CONFUSION AND CONTRADICTIONS MARKED THIRD SESSION OF Dr. ELAHI’S COURT
By Iraj Fatemi
PARIS 28 June (IPS) The third session of the trial of the murder of an Iranian dissident in a Paris criminal court had all the trademarks of a good Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller, where an alleged double agent denies adamantly any connection with either Iranian and French secret and security services while, at the same time, a high-ranking French counter-espionage Superintendent confirms the man was their informant.
In the one hand, the Court is told that the French Counter-espionage agency DST had most of the Iranian terrorist operating in France under control, yet, on the other hand, it admit that at least five prominent political opponents had been killed in cold blood at their residences or in Paris streets.
Amid a total confusion and contradictory statements, one learns that while the French police is informed "before hand" about the Iranian dissidents to be killed by Iranian hit squads, yet all the victims are killed one after another.
The hearing started with Mr. Mojtaba Mashadi, now a French citizen alleged to be agent of the Iranian Information (Intelligence) Ministry denying all charges.
Appearing at the Court Wednesday as a witness, Mr. Mashadi, who had served a three years term on charges of "association in the assassination" of Dr. Cyrus Elahi, rejects from the outset all accusations against him and denies forcefully that he had worked for Iranian secret services and collaborated with the French Counter-espionage, DST.
Deputy leader of "Derafsh Kaviani" organisation, a Paris-based, American funded group fighting the Islamic Republic, Dr. Elahi, an American citizen of Iranian extract was assassinated in his apartment on 23 October 1990 by an unidentified killer allegedly introduced to his house by Mr. Mashadi.
After a break that lasts for 45 minutes, the Court resumes the hearing with a thorough cross-examination of a DST Superintendent identified as Mr. Jean Ghirou, who begin his deposition with a brief history of the Islamic Republic’s terrorist activities, "aimed at eliminating physically" all the political and ideological opponents of the new regime installed after the Islamic revolution of 1979, "a process that accelerated under Hojjatoleslam Ali Fallahian" (a former Intelligence Minister), he pointed out.
Shahriar Shafiq, the son of the Shah’s twin sister Princess Ashraf, General Qolamali Oveisi, Dr. Abdolrahman Boroomand, Dr. Cyrus Elahi, Dr. Shahpoor Bakhtiar, the Shah’s last Prime Minister, Dr. Reza Mazlooman, Dr. Abdolrahman Qasemloo, General secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Dr. Qasem Sharafkandi and three of his colleagues, Freydoon Farrokhzad, a successful showman, Mr. Rajavi, the brother of the present leader of the Baghdad-based Mojahedeen Khalq Organisation and some other influential political and intellectual opponents are murdered by the regime’s implacable terror machine.
The pattern in all the murders is the same, as Islamic Republic’s secret services have penetrated opposition groups thanks to numerous spies "guided and directed by well trained and experienced agents", the DST man observes.
"The first indication that came to out attention was a meeting held at the Paris Orly airport on 16 November 1989 with the participation of Mr. Ali Ahani, the Islamic Republic’s Ambassador to France (now a Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs), Mr. Ali Angizi, Director of Iran Air office in Paris, Mr. Ali Qorbanifar and a a fourth person we could not identify and designated under the nickname of Beardy", Mr. Ghirou said.
Having established close contacts with Mr. Gorbanifar (the brother of Manoochehr, an arms dealer who played an important role in the "Irangate" scandal), the DST learns that Mr. Mojtaba Mashadi had been instructed by Tehran to assassinate Dr. Manoochehr Ganji, the leader of Derafsh Kaviani.
"At about the same time, we are informed that three other Iranian opponents are also on the Islamic Republic’s hit list, but despite all efforts, French secret services and counter-intelligence agencies, due probably to mistakes, fail to identify the men, one of them might have been Dr. Elahi", the Superintendent continued.
The President – What do you know about Mr. Mashadi?
Superintendent – As far as we knew, he had met personally Mr. Fallahian at the end of 1989 in Tehran. From that time, one can consider him as someone who was responsible for preparing for the operations, in charge of the logistics and paving the way for the killers.
Elahi was the first victim that, unfortunately, our services could not prevent the assassination to happen, as he did not had an important position among the opponents, he added, despite the fact that the victim was the number two man in the Derafsh Kaviani, then one of the most active anti-Islamic Republic groups.
In the first meeting with Mashadi, he denied having any contact with Iranian intelligence services. But in the second and third confrontation, he rescinds, confesses to his close collaboration with the Intelligence Ministry and tells us that on instructions from the Ministry, he was gathering information on the whereabouts of Mr. Shoja’eddin Shafa (a prolific writer, historian, researcher and translator) and Mr. Cyrus Elahi. Mr. Ganji was added to the list from July 1989.
As contacts with Mr. Mashadi would continue without bearing any positive results, in order to prevent the murder of the three men on the hit list and of whom we had no clue, it was decided to neutralise him after the assassination of Dr. Elahi.
Meanwhile, Dr. Reza Mazlooman was killed by agents that had come from Germany.
(Last week, a Paris criminal court sentenced Mr. Ahmad Jayhooni, an Iranian living in Germany to 17 years imprisonment on charges of association in the murder of Dr. Mazlooman).
The President – Since 1989, you knew Mr. Mashadi and were in constant contact with him. How come that he was able to kill Mr. Elahi in 1990?
Superintendent – We probably made some mistakes. I consider mistakes as possible reason. (But he would not emphasises)
The president charges again, refers to the meeting in Orly Airport and asks to explain why the DST and other relevant agencies could not trace Islamic Republic’s agents?
Superintendent – As I said before, we probably were wrong on some points.
The President – As of 1989, Ali Qorbanifar had informed French intelligence agencies that Mashadi is an agent of the Islamic Republic..
Superintendent – We did not know Dr. Cyrus Elahi well enough and did not have proper contacts with Mr. Ganji’s organisation. Therefore, our goal was to establish the identities of possible victims first and identify the murderers..
The President – Mr. Superintendent, why you did not act when Mashadi informed you about the task he had been ordered to perform?
Superintendent – Mashadi would talk too much. Most of out informers were drug smugglers. In my personal opinion, the Islamic Republic employs drug smugglers as sources of information and intelligence on the opponents.
The President – With all the contacts and connections you had, how is that you could not prevent the killings? Can’t, one deduct that you wouldn’t use your information but only after assassinations?
Superintendent – I can’t answer all your questions. I’m an intelligence officer with heavy responsibilities. There are shadows I can’t talk about.
The hearings are expected to last until Friday, with other witnesses, particularly Dr. Ganji, Mr. Abolhasan Banisadr, Islamic Iran’s first president and Abolqasem Farhad Mesbahi, alias "Witness C" of the Berlin’s "Mykonos" Court give evidences. ENDS ELAHI TRIAL 28601