According to an article in the 26 July 1997 issue of The Ottawa Citizen, former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani-Sadr heads an organization called the "National Council of Iranian Resistance" (not to be confused with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, headed by Masoud Rajavi) and has lived in exile in Paris since 1981 (ibid.; France-2 Television Network 1 Nov. 1994). In a 26 August 1996 interview with the German publication Focus, Bani-Sadr stated that the newspaper published by himself and his associates (Bani-Sadr said "we"; he did not mention the name of any organization), The Islamic Revolution, was the only Iranian newspaper outside Iran which has published continuously since 1981.

No other reference to a "National Council of Iranian Resistance" or to the name of any organization associated with Abolhassan Bani-Sadr could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In 1996 Bani-Sadr testified for the prosecution at a trial in Germany of five people accused of killing Iranian Kurdish leader Sadiq Sharafkindi and three other people at the "Mykonos" restaurant in Berlin on 17 September 1992 (AP 15 Nov. 1996, 24 Aug. 1996). Bani-Sadr implicated Iran's top leaders in the crime, testifying that "no opponents are killed abroad without the consent of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hashemi Rafsanjani" (ibid.).

In a 10 September 1996 interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, Bani-Sadr spoke of his suitability as a witness for the prosecution, saying that

For years I have been watching and researching developments in Iran. A year ago I published my findings on the Iranian terrorist network and terrorist system. I informed the federal prosecutor in April this year on whatever I knew about the structures of this network.

In a 6 August 1996 interview with the Deutchlandfunk Network, Bani-Sadr stated that he had known about the plans for the Mykonos attack before it took place, and that "we published our information in our newspaper. We were then trying to inform all possible people that an attack was being prepared ( as I said, long before the attack was carried out."

After the trial Bani-Sadr urged European governments to scale back their relations with Iran, which he described as a "terrorist state," to

a minimum in consular relations and in trade. However, no agreement on loans, and, above all, no secret relations with the regime as in the past. The people must see that the regime has lost international support (Die Tageszeitung 11 Apr. 1997).

On another occasion, however, Bani-Sadr expressed his opposition to the US policy of imposing economic sanctions on Iran, saying that it is "a stupid way of fighting terrorism" (Focus, 26 Aug. 1996).

Bani-Sadr reportedly told journalists in April 1997 that informants within the Iranian government had told him that the US and Iran had been conducting secret negotiations in the German cities of Frankfurt and Hamburg with a view to improving relations between the two countries (AP 15 Apr. 1997). Bani-Sadr said that the main conditions imposed by the US for improved relations were that Iran cease to sponsor terrorism and forego a nuclear arsenal (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Associated Press (AP). 15 April 1997. "Former Iranian President: Washington, Tehran Conduct Secret Talks." (NEXIS)

_____. 15 November 1996. "Prosecutors Recommend Life for Two Mykonos Defendants." (NEXIS)

_____. 24 August 1996. "Opposition: Germany Should Reconsider Relations With Iran." (NEXIS)

Deutschlandfunk Network [Cologne]. 6 August 1996. Christoph Heinemann. "Germany: Former Iranian President Interviewed on Mykonos Attack." (FBIS-WEU-96-152 6 Aug. 1996/WNC)

Die Tageszeitung (Internet version) [Berlin, in German]. 11 April 1997. Dorothea Hahn. "Iran: Former President Banisadr Welcomes Mykonos Verdict." (FBIS-NES-97-101 4 Apr. 1997/WNC)

Focus [Munich, in German]. 26 August 1996. Wolfram Eberhardt. "Germany: Bani-Sadr Blames Tehran for Political Killings Abroad." (FBIS-WEU-96-169 26 Aug. 1996/WNC)

France-2 Television Network [Paris, in French]. 1 November 1994. "Bani-Sadr Warns Iran Reactivating Killers of Exiles." (FBIS-WEU-94-212 1 Nov. 1994/WNC)

Frankfurter Rundschau [Frankfurt, in German]. 10 September 1996. Karl-Heinz Baum. "Germany/Iran: Bani-Sadr on Terrorism, Intelligence Activities." (FBIS-TOT-96-024-L 10 Sept. 1996/WNC)

The Ottawa Citizen. 26 July 1997. David Wallis. "The Exile Files: Despots, Kings and Leaders Are Always Looking Over Their Shoulders. Who's Next?" (NEXIS)