Court judge for Monafeghin case: The extradition of terrorism crime suspects will be pursued seriously and with all legal means.

The session took place on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, presided over by Judge Amir Reza Dehghani, with court advisors Morteza Torak and Amin Naseri, in the presence of Vaziri, the prosecutor’s representative, families of martyrs, their lawyers, and the defendants’ lawyers at the Imam Khomeini Judicial Complex, conducted publicly.

Judge Dehghani, announcing the public nature of the trial, addressed the countries hosting the case’s suspects, stating: In international documents, terrorist crimes are distinguished from extradition rules for criminals. According to Article 11 of the UN Convention on Combating Terrorist Bombings, these charges are not considered political offenses, and regarding the extradition of suspects, they do not benefit from protections against the extradition of political criminals. Based on Article 11 of this convention, none of the crimes outlined in Article 2 are considered extraditable or subject to legal cooperation among parties. Articles 1 and 2 of the 1997 EU Convention on Combating Terrorism stipulate that if the perpetrator is arrested, they must be prosecuted or extradited. Article 12 of the UN Convention on Combating Terrorist Bombings states that extradition rules should not be designed to exempt suspects of terrorist acts from extradition provisions.

Masoud Madah, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, stated: In previous sessions, we discussed instances of aircraft hijacking by the Monafeghin, also known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization.

He added: A few points about this hijacking: Firstly, it was carried out by Behzad Moezi, who once facilitated the Shah’s escape from the country and later helped Masoud Rajavi escape, indicating a connection between the Shah and the Monafeghin. I previously mentioned in this session that Masoud Rajavi was a SAVAK agent, and this is documented. A letter from General Nasiri, the then-head of SAVAK, confirms Rajavi’s collaboration with SAVAK, which was not ordinary cooperation. Rajavi betrayed all organization members to SAVAK to secure its leadership. We see that the same pilot who helped the Shah escape was chosen to facilitate the escape of Masoud Rajavi and Bani-Sadr. Rajavi is a hijacker, kidnapper, and hostage-taker, and Western governments, particularly France, granted asylum to a terrorist hijacker and hostage-taker, as mentioned in issue 162 of the Mojahed magazine.

Madah stated: While serving a prison sentence, Masoud Rajavi traveled to France. Colonel Behzad Moezi, the Shah’s pilot, hijacked an aircraft and facilitated the escape of Rajavi and Bani-Sadr. Fathollah, alias Commander Fathollah, who was the head of intelligence and special operations for the Monafeghin in 1981, stated in issue 162, page 3 of the Mojahed magazine that the hijacking operation to facilitate Rajavi and Bani-Sadr’s escape was led by Rajavi.

Madah continued: Another issue concerning Rajavi is that he is a hostage-taker who directly participated in such acts, as confirmed by two aircraft technical crew members. Fazlollah Ghazi Asgar, a flight crew member and technical engineer, and another individual were unaware of the hijacking and were forcibly detained at gunpoint and taken aboard the aircraft, effectively being kidnapped. Ghazi Asgar testified that Masoud Rajavi, who had grown a beard unlike before, was armed with a pistol, similar to the armed individual who took him hostage. Due to a delay in reaching the cockpit, Mr. Vakili, the flight engineer, came looking for him and was also taken hostage by armed individuals.

Madah added: Given that Rajavi led this operation, which involved not only hijacking but also hostage-taking, we can attribute this to him under Article 621 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code, which considers the orchestrator of hostage-taking as equivalent to the perpetrator. It is regrettable that French authorities grant asylum to a mercenary hostage-taker who betrayed his country, hijacked an aircraft, and committed terrorist acts against civilians, failing to adhere to their own penal laws.

Masoud Madah, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, stated: According to Article 224 of the French Penal Code, seizing or controlling an aircraft, ship, or any vehicle with people on board using violence or the threat of violence carries up to 20 years of imprisonment. France and European countries have accepted around 15 international anti-terrorism conventions.

He added: It is surprising that hijackers receive only three years of imprisonment, and a terrorist like Masoud Rajavi is granted asylum without any accountability for these crimes. It is astonishing that France granted asylum to Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, whose political incompetence and betrayal of the country were legally established by the people’s representatives. The international community must answer why they grant asylum to Rajavi, who once worked for SAVAK, then for Saddam Hussein, and later received support from the United States. French authorities must respond to this.