Court Indicts Iran Leaders for Kurd Assassinations, Agence France Presse, April 10

BERLIN - A German court held the Iranian state leadership responsible at the highest level for the assassination of Iranian Kurd opposition figures as it handed down verdict and sentence on the killers Thursday….

It is the first time that a western court has directly implicated the Islamic regime in such acts of terrorism.

Judge Kubsch said the evidence showed that orders for the operation emanated from a "committee for special affairs" of which, according to the prosecution, both Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei and Iranian head of state Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani are members.

The judge identified the two state leaders as members of this committee only by their titles, but he specifically named another alleged member of the committee, the Iranian secret services minister Ali Fallahian, as having directed the operation.

The German authorities issued a warrant for Fallahian's arrest over a year ago….

The Iranian authorities repeatedly sought to influence the course of the trial…

Exiles Cheer, Bonn Cautious After Berlin Verdict, Reuter, April 10

BERLIN - Exiled Iranians clapped and danced and Bonn officials exercised great caution on Thursday after a Berlin court said Iran's leaders had ordered the killing of three Iranian Kurdish leaders in 1992….

A cheer went up from the crowd when an official of the National Council of Resistance of Iran read out a statement from the Mujahideen leader Massoud Rajavi.

"For years, there has hardly been any doubt about the role of the criminal mullah regime's leadership in terrorist acts," he said.

"Now a European court has for the first time named Khamenei and Rafsanjani as the masterminds of the attack in Berlin and Tehran's state terrorism."…

Iranians' Rally Calls For Annulment Of 'Critical Dialogue', Iran Zamin News Agency, April 10

While the Berlin Court was issuing its verdict this morning, a rally was held by 2,000 Iranians residing in Berlin in front of the courthouse. A number of German Federal and State parliamentarians as well as chairpersons of various Committees of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) addressed the gathering which had been called by the NCRI Representative Office in Germany.

Mrs. Ingrid Holzhuter, a representative of the Federal Parliament, called upon the international community to put an end to appeasing behavior towards Tehran's mullahs and to extend recognition to the Iranian Resistance and their President, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi…

Maryam Rajavi: End 'Critical Dialogue' And Trade, Iran Zamin News Agency, April 10

Following Berlin Court's verdict today, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said, "the verdict is the pronouncement of the international illegitimacy of the mullahs ruling Iran who have so far been condemned 39 times by the United Nations Organization for their savage violation of human rights and for having executed more than 100,000 political prisoners."…

Iranian Dissidents' Reaction, CNN, April 10

A German court ruling has triggered a push to further isolate Iran… It was exactly the verdict the Iranian exiles outside the Berlin court ... They celebrated German condemnation of state sponsored terrorism….

Judge Kubsch said "the trail had proved Iran's political leadership ordered the crime."…

Shahin Ghobadi (spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran): "… this [critical dialog] policy should be abandoned completely and a trade and arms embargo must be imposed on Iran by Germany first, followed up by the European Union in its totality."…

Victory Seen for Iranian Opposition and German Justice, Agence France Presse, April 10

BONN - The accusation by a top German court Thursday that top leaders of the Iranian regime ordered the assassination of opponents abroad was greeted as a victory for both the Iranian opposition and for German justice….

The widow of one of the Kurdish victims of the killer squad sent by Tehran, Shoreh Baddii, said that thanks to the court's identification of the state leadership as having ordered the assassinations, exiled Iranians would now feel safer in Germany….

In Geneva, the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran called on the United Nations to condemn "Tehran's direct involvement in terrorist acts abroad".

The statement signed by Massud Rajavi, chief of the Iranian armed opposition People's Mujahedeen, also called on the European Union to sever ties with the Iranian regime and to impose trade sanctions on it.

For Germany's Alliance90/ Greens party, spokesman Juergen Trittin said with an eye to considerations of Germany's commercial interests in Iran that "economic opportunism must not form the basis of relations with criminal regimes"….

Bonn Ends Critical Dialog, Expels Mullahs' Diplomats, Reuter, April 10

BERLIN - Germany ordered four Iranian diplomats out of the country on Thursday after a court accused Iran's leaders of ordering the killing of exiled Kurdish dissidents in Berlin and indicated its highest leaders were involved.

Accusing Iran of a "flagrant violation of international law," Germany called its own ambassador home for consultations and said it would no longer take part in a "critical dialogue" with Iran which it has stubbornly defended against criticism from allies….

Bonn's Foreign Ministry called in Iranian ambassador Hossein Mousavian to tell him it held Iran responsible for its actions but that it hoped the situation would not escalate….

German Parties Want EU Envoys Recalled from Iran, Reuter, April 10

BERLIN - Foreign policy experts from Germany's main political parties urged the European Union on Thursday to recall envoys from Iran after a Berlin court ruled Tehran ordered the 1992 killings of three Kurdish dissidents.

Karl Lamers, foreign policy spokesman for Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats, and Guenter Verheugen of the opposition Social Democrats said the envoys should be recalled while the EU considered the implications of Thursday's verdict….

U.S. Asks Europe to Sever Ties with Iran, Reuter, April 10

WASHINGTON - The United States hailed a German court finding on Thursday that the Iranian leadership ordered political killings of Kurds in Berlin…

"The United States commends the courage of the German prosecutor, the German judges and the witnesses ...," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns.

"The court's verdict corroborates our long-held view that Iran's sponsorship of terrorism is authorized at senior levels of the Iranian government," Burns told reporters….

"The United States will maintain its own sanctions on Iran and we strongly encourage our European partners to do the same."…

EU Invites Members to Recall Ambassadors from Iran, Reuter, April 10

THE HAGUE - The European Union invited member countries on Thursday to recall their ambassadors from Iran following a German court ruling accusing Iranian leaders of ordering the killing of exiled Kurds.

"The presidency invited member states to recall their ambassadors for coordinated consultations on the future relationship of the European Union with Iran," said Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Mollema, whose country holds the EU presidency until the end of June.

Masoud Rajavi Calls for More Actions Against Mullahs, Iran Zamin News Agency, April 10

Mr. Masoud Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance movement's Leader, while greeting Germany's suspension of the 'critical dialogue' with the mullahs' regime and re-call of EU diplomatic representatives from Iran, stated, "while these measures are necessary, they in no way correspond to the dimensions of Khomeini regime's crimes."

Mr. Rajavi added, "the time has come for the EU to immediately sever all its economic and diplomatic..."

Britain Endorses EU Stance on Iran, Reuter, April 10

LONDON - Britain said on Thursday it "wholeheartedly" endorsed the European Union's invitation for member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Iran….

"We will give maximum support to Germany in the aftermath of the judgement," Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement. "We will work actively with the Dutch Presidency and our EU partners to agree a firm response."….

Mullahs Reaction to the Verdict, Dow Jones News, April 10

TEHRAN - Iran recalled its ambassador to Bonn Thursday after a German court said Iranian leaders were responsible for the 1992 assassination of an opposition figure in Berlin, Iranian television reported.

Iran also expelled four German diplomats and demanded that German Ambassador Horst Baechmann submit an official explanation regarding the court's statements….

Some 300 riot police with water cannons surrounded the German Embassy late Thursday to prevent any anti-German demonstrations. Most of the police were withdrawn by nightfall….

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