An Iranian diplomat has been accused by President Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, of plotting to bomb a large French political event by attending – but seeking immunity so that his trial does not begin on Friday.
Assadullah Assad, 48, is accused of masterminding an attack on a June 2018 meeting in Paris, one of Iran’s most outspoken opposition movements, which was attended by UK and US politicians, including Trump allies.
The Mercedes was reportedly foiled by Belgian police carrying 550 grams of so-called “mother of the devil” TATP explosives and a detonator to France.
The directed anti-Mujahideen-e-Khalaq group, or M.E.K. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
There were 25,000 people in the French city of Villepinte, north of Paris, that day, officials said.
Bob Blackman, a British politician who was there, told The Sun that a bombing could start a new world war.
“The United States would have unequivocally declared war on Iran – and it was only because the conspiracy failed that World War III was avoided,” Blackman told the UK paper.
Asadi is one of four Iranians serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to “attempt to assassinate a terrorist and participate in the activities of a terrorist group.”
But he refused to be present in Belgium on the opening day of the hearing on Friday, insisting that “the court is not capable of judging him”, due to his diplomatic status, his lawyer Dimitri de Beko said.
“Tell me they have full respect for these judges, but they believe they should benefit from immunity, they are not allowed to judge them,” Assad told Reuters.
MEK’s lawyers claimed – without providing evidence – that Assad was ordered not to attend by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. They insisted that diplomatic immunity was not equivalent to “liberation”.
He was arrested in Germany and had diplomatic credentials in Austria, so Belgian lawyers believe he has the right to proceed, the Agence France-Presse reported. The judge said he would raise questions of proceedings during the second hearing of the case for next week.
A lawyer for another group at the rally, the National Council for Resistance in Iran (NCRI), called it an unprecedented, historic trial, AFP reported.
William Borden said outside the court that this was the first time that, symbolically, the mullahs’ rule was in the trenches and that he would be judged by a case against his so-called diplomats.
Assad did not co-operate with investigators and denies all allegations.
Three other people under trial appeared in court. They are a couple driving explosive cars – Nasimah Nami, 36, and Amir Sadouni, 36, as well as Mehrdad Arefni, 57, a Belgian-based Iranian poet who had frequent telephone contacts with Assad.
The hearing is set to be adjourned for two years, Friday and then next week on Thursday, for an expected decision early next year, AFP said.
Iran has denied any involvement in the plot.
With post wire
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