French justice drops 11-year terror case against Iran exiled opposition that sparked suicides

PARIS – French judges have thrown out terrorism-linked charges against nine members of an exiled Iranian opposition group, closing a case that began 11 years ago with mass arrests that provoked several deaths by protesters setting themselves afire.

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed Wednesday the case against the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq was closed. The group's leader Maryam Rajavi said in a statement the decision was a "victory of justice and resistance over collaboration" between France and Iran.

Rajavi was among more than 150 detained in a sweep in 2003 around the group's headquarters in Auvers-Sur-Oise, outside Paris. She and 16 others were charged on suspicion of planning terrorist acts and terror financing. Rajavi was later released, and some charges were dropped as the probe progressed.

The identities of the nine were not released.