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Court denies State Dept. right to label groups terrorist

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, June 14, 2001

WASHINGTON Ñ Foreign groups designated as terrorists could have the last word in determining whether they should appear on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations.

Under a federal appeals court ruling last week, the State Department will have to prove allegations that support the placement of a group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. Such a determination denies U.S. contacts with that group.

The first challenge for the State Department could be to demonstrate the validity of the appearance of the National Council of Resistance of Iran on the list of terror organizations, Middle East Newsline reported. The designation, issued in 1977, has limited the operations of the Iranian opposition group, believed to be a front for the Mujahdeen Khalq.

In a 25-page ruling on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia said the secretary of state must allow the Iranian council to respond to allegations that it is not a terrorist group. The designation of all 29 groups on the list is scheduled to be reviewed in October.

Most of the House of Representatives has urged the State Department to drop the National Council of Resistance from its list of terrorist organizations.

"While not within our current order, we expect that the Secretary will afford due process rights to these and other similarly situated entities in the course of future designations," the judges said. "We require the Secretary afford to entities considered for imminent designation the opportunity to present, at least in written form, such evidence as those entities may be able to produce to rebut the administrative record."

U.S. officials said they are studying the court ruling. "Now we know about it, but we are still reviewing it," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday. "So we don't have an opinion on it at this point."

Thursday, June 14, 2001



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