On Tuesday October 16, 2007, branch 16 of Misdemeanor Court of Paris to consider the appeal of French anti-terrorism prosecutor against two supporters of the Iranian Resistance regarding the protesting self-immolations on June 17, 2003.
Following the raid on the residence of President-elect of the Iranian Resistance Mrs. Maryam Rajavi as well as twelve houses of the Iranian refugees, carried out by Chirac government based on a dirty deal with the mullahs regime, a number of supporters of the Iranian Resistance burned themselves as a show of protest.
According to AFP, Mahmoud Aalami and Hossein Amini were arrested four years ago on the charge of persuading others for self-immolations; however after four months, the investigation judge declared their innocence, But the antiterrorist persecutor did not agree with that and asked for an appeal.
Yesterday, when the court was held, a big number of witnesses, observers, jurists and prominent French personalities including former and current members of Senate and French National Parliament such as Jean-Pierre Michelle, former judge, Allen Vivian, former French minister and chairman of anti-sect commission in French government, and Mr. Yves Bonnet, former Chief of the French Counter-terrorism Organization (DST) attended the court while many others were standing outside the court.
French news agency and other media broadcasted several reports from the court.
French weekly Journal de Dimanche in its report titled as: ” Trial of Human Torches” wrote: Nobody has forgotten those scenes. On June 18, 2003, when about 60 people were protesting outside DST offices in Paris, three activists associated with the PMOI set themselves ablaze, one of whom passed away and the other two were injured seriously. There was another fourth person who was arrested before he could commit suicide.
The day after the extensive raid by more than1,300 the French cops on the offices of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which happened upon the conspiracy and collaboration of Chirac’s government and the religious fascism ruling Iran, Marzieh Babakhani set herself ablaze outside the DST in Paris and made herself as a human torch for her protest and went into a coma in the hospital for six months.
Marzieh Babakhani in her interview with Le Parisien said: I’m not sorry for what I did and today I think about a free Iran more than anything else.
Mohammad Vakili Far, who had also said himself on fire in protest to 17 June raid and the collaboration of Chirac government with the religious fascism, took part in the court as a witness. Vakili Far emphasized in his testimony before the court that he committed self-ablaze upon his own decision to show his anger and protest against the collaboration of Chirac’s government and the mullahs’ regime, and he had not informed anybody about his decision in advance.
Marzieh Babakhani who also participated in the court as a witness, defended her self-ablaze and said: when I started that, I was confident that I am on the right path. She stated her memories of the 17 June raid and added when the cops attacked barbarically, in the first moments I felt they were Iranian regime’s guards in French police uniforms.
Referring to widespread crimes by the mullahs regime including execution of her brothers Mehdi and Tagh by the mullahs ruling Iran, Babakhani added that a big number of her classmates have been tortured and executed.
Babakhani continued: ” when I’m accused of committing self-ablaze upon order, it is an insult to me. Like any other member of the Resistance, I myself make decision to struggle and resistance and I myself decide how to do that. On that day I decided to burn myself to voice out my protest about suppression and justice against the Iranian resistance.
Babakhani address the court and said: if you are looking for the culprit, the real culprit is then French government Mr. Chirac that in Asia informed deal with the mullahs regime staged such an extensive attack on the resistance’s caused such a situation.
In his last remarks, prosecutor requested for a maximum two years of suspended imprisonment for the defendants
French LSI TV reported: during the hearing of the 16th session of the court, the attorney of the two defendants Cohen Saban must defend the hollowness of the file. The two who have survived from self immolation on June 18 are going to testify that nobody had decided for them and “they preferred to die this way rather than be repatriated to Iran.”
French daily Le Parisien reported an interview with Marzieh Babakhani who had set herself on fire at that time in protest to the conspiracy by the religious fascism and its allies and called her a brave and faithful woman.