IRANIAN REGIME ACCUSED OF TERRORISM BY A SPANISH JUDGE

A leading member of the Spanish justiciary – Judge Santiago J. Pedraz Gómez, Presiding Magistrate of Central Investigating Court No. 5, Madrid, has just published a 12-page indictment defining the roles of 8 individuals directly involved in the attempted assassination of the senior Spanish politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras, on November 9, 2023, when he was shot in the face outside his home in Madrid. Prof. Vidal-Quadras was Senior Vice President of the European Parliament from 1999-2014. Judge Pedraz Gómez notes that the involvement of all 8 individuals, including the alleged hitman who pulled the trigger, can be traced directly to the Iranian regime. In the indictment, he goes on to list many other acts of terrorism in Europe conducted by the Iranian regime.

In one key statement, Judge Pedraz Gómez says: “The attempt on the life of Mr. Vidal-Quadras Roca is directly related to his political activity, specifically because he is a prominent figure at the European level opposing the Iranian regime”. He also states: “In 2022, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially included him on a list of sanctioned individuals, accusing him of supporting terrorism”.

Judge Pedraz Gómez notes that: “On November 14, 2023, Fars News Agency—affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards—cited an “informed source” stating: “The Islamic Republic of Iran has officially warned all countries hosting terrorist groups that hosting the MEK or other groups will have serious consequences. (…) Regarding the assassination attempt on Vidal-Quadras, the source emphasized: The Spanish government would be wise not to act as a player in the MEK’s arena (…) Spain should know that hosting the MEK or allowing them to operate on its soil will have serious consequences.” The Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK has been at the forefront of Resistance against the mullahs’ dictatorship in Iran for decades and has been strongly supported by Prof. Vidal-Quadras and many other prominent politicians from both sides of the Atlantic.

As a result of the published indictment, Prof. Vidal-Quadras has written to the leaders of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council, in his capacity as President of the ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ) organisation that boasts a large membership of leading international politicians, academics and decision makers, who seek justice and freedom for the Iranian people. Given the judge’s unequivocal statements condemning Iran, Prof. Vidal-Quadras has asked the EU leaders to justify their long-standing and abortive policy of appeasing the criminal regime.

In his letter, Prof. Vidal-Quadras says: “At the very least, we would expect a statement from your organisation condemning the Iranian regime for their sponsorship of terrorism on European soil. We would assume that together with EU Member States you would immediately summon the various Iranian ambassadors to confront them with this information and to condemn this outrage. We would also draw your attention to Judge Pedraz Gómez’s reminder that the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in October 2022, had published a list of names of EU and other Western figures, sanctioned by the Islamic Republic and accused by them of being terrorists, because of their opposition to the theocratic regime and support for the main democratic opposition movement – the MEK. My name was at the top of that list. Following the Fars News Agency statement noted by Judge J. Pedraz Gómez, we must insist that immediate action is taken to provide protection for all EU citizens whose names appeared on that list”.

Prof Vidal-Quadras continued: “It is our conclusion, clearly supported by the indictment prepared by Judge J. Pedraz Gómez, that the Iranian regime uses its embassies as centres for planning acts of terrorism and as a consequence, diplomacy should be terminated, the embassies closed, and all diplomatic staff expelled. We should also close our embassies in Iran and isolate the Islamic Republic as a criminal regime. The EU should designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation in line with the unanimous vote by the European Parliament on 18 January 2023.  The EU must also show support for the Iranian people and their Resistance – the MEK, and their wish to end this tyrannical dictatorship. We are resolute in the knowledge that achieving this objective is not possible through foreign military intervention, nor through appeasement of the regime. Real change can only come about through the Iranian people and their organised Resistance”.

Prof Vidal-Quadras, who miraculously survived the gunshot wound to his head and required “multiple surgeries”, warns the EU’s leaders on behalf of the ISJ: “It is time the EU institutions listen to people like us that have dedicated decades to the political fight to bring freedom and democracy to the long oppressed Iranian people, at great risk even for our own lives”.

In the indictment, Judge Pedraz Gómez points out that the proposed assassination of Prof. Vidal-Quadras by the Iranian regime was intended “as retaliation for his political activities in support of the Iranian resistance”. The judge names all 8 arrested suspects and details the role of each, in a clandestine operation that cost thousands and was carried out over many months. The only suspect not arrested so far is named by the judge as Sami Bekal, the alleged ringleader of the gang, who “commissioned” each of the suspects on their specific tasks, involving the acquisition of vehicles, telephones, money, surveillance and recording equipment, weapons, accommodation, and the arranged escape of the hitman and his accomplices. It is believed that Sami Bekal is now being shielded by the regime in Iran. Judge Pedraz Gómez states that the arrest of the suspects included evidence from “house searches, witness statements, international legal assistance from the Netherlands, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the UK, Colombia, and Belgium, with information still pending from Turkish authorities”. The alleged hit man, named as Mehrez Ayari, was arrested by police in the Netherlands, acting on an intelligence tipoff, outside the home of an Iranian dissident whom he was allegedly also planning to assassinate. Due to the number of suspects currently held in prison in Spain, two trials will be held, commencing either at the end of this year or the beginning of next.