The Strange World Of The People's Mujahedin

The People’s Mujahedin of Iran: terrorists, victims or an Iranian government-in-waiting? The BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones investigates in this documentary.

The People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) is a group of 3,000 dissident Iranians who have been fighting to topple the Mullahs since the 1980s. Designated terrorists by the US and a cult by some former members, they live in Iraq at Camp Ashraf.

The Camp residents say that since the US left Iraq they are at the mercy of the pro-Iranian Iraqi government, which is demanding the camp be closed down.

The group now claims to have renounced violence and argues that it should be removed from America’s list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. Owen Bennett-Jones reports on the way in which a former pariah group accused of killing Americans has won over intelligence experts, generals and congressmen from both sides of the political divide.

As the deadline for the closing of Camp Ashraf draws near, he asks just who are the PMOI? 

Publicity contact: BBC World Service Publicity