Canada drops Iranian opposition group from terror list

Canada has removed PMOI from its terrorist list

By Associated Press
Fox News, Toronto, 20 Dec 2012 - Canada’s Conservative government says it has removed an Iranian opposition group, once allied with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, from its official list of terrorist organizations.
The government’s move Thursday to delist Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK, follows similar moves by the United States and the European Union.
The MEK, a small armed exile group, has said it wants to replace Tehran’s clerical regime with a secular government through peaceful means.
The United States noted when delisting MEK in September that the group had not engaged in terrorism for more than a decade.
Any person or group on Canada’s terrorist list may have their assets seized, and there are criminal penalties for assisting organizations that are on the list.

European broadcasters accuse Syria, Iran of jamming of news to Middle East

European broadcasters accuse Syria, Iran
of jamming of news to Middle East

Associated Press,  Geneva,  October 22,2012 — European broadcast officials say Syria and Iran appear to be behind the deliberate signal-jamming that has interrupted news delivered by satellite into parts of the Middle East.
The Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union alliance says the jamming that began last week is an attack on the independence of news organizations.
If you haven’t been paying close attention, the operating system’s new interface might come as a shock.
It said in a statement Monday that the targeted jamming cut off radio and television content by broadcasters including the BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America.
European satellite operator Eutelsat reports that the “deliberate and intermittent interference” originated from Syria and Iran.
EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre says the jamming incidents are an “attack on media freedom” because they deny people access to information, a universal human right and an essential component for democracy.

(There is Farsi translation of this story available here.)

Category: Cultures