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A former member of the Islamic Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) has welcomed the European Union’s decision to take the MKO off the EU’s list of terrorist organizations.
Massud Khodabandeh said the ruling will give thousands of MKO members "the right to return to their families," RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Khodabandeh said the ruling will "save some of those individuals from the situation they’re facing in Iraq," where they number some 3,000.
The MKO seeks the overthrow of the Iranian government, and the EU decision has prompted sharp words from Tehran.
Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have accused the MKO of subjecting dissident members to torture.
It is still considered a terrorist group by the United States.