Washington, Nov 16 -

Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) joined 103 bipartisan members in urging the administration to remove the main Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

In recent years, some of the highest judicial authorities in Europe have made the same recommendations to their governments, and as a result, in 2008 and 2009, the MEK was scratched off the lists in Britain and the 27-member European Union, respectively.  

In a recent letter to Secretary Clinton, the bipartisan group of lawmakers urged for an end to the MEK’s continued designation in the US.  The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has invoked the listing to deny the residents of Camp Ashraf, home to 3,400 MEK members, including 1000 women, their fundamental rights guaranteed under international law. In July 2009, Iraqi forces carried out a violent raid against the camp residents, which left 11 residents dead and hundreds injured.

H. Res. 1431 calls for an end to the violence, arrests, torture, and ill treatment perpetrated against Iranian citizens as well as the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Iran.  In addition, the resolution:

·         Calls upon the U.S. government to condemn human rights violations and support the Iranian people's endeavors towards democracy;

·         Calls to remove the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations;

·         Calls to impose sanctions; and efforts to create an international consensus to deal with Iran's nuclear program; and

·         Calls on the President to persuade U.S. allies and other countries to enact appropriate measures against Iranian banks and financial institutions involved in nuclear activities and backing of terrorist groups.

Congressman Poe serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Victims’ Rights caucus.  For more information on Congressman Poe, please visit his website:  http://poe.house.gov.

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