LOS ANGELES - Four Iranian brothers are challenging a government decision to detain them since 2001 for supporting an alleged terrorist organization that many lawmakers, including Attorney General John Ashcroft, have supported in the past, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The Mirmehdi brothers - Mohammed, Mostafa, Mohsen and Mojtaba - were arrested in October 2001 following an FBI investigation into a Los Angeles-based cell of the Moujahedeen Khalq, or MEK, which opposes Iran's regime.
The FBI claimed informants indicated the Mirmehdi brothers associated with the MEK. Although the four admitted attending protests against the Iranian government that were allegedly sponsored by the MEK, they denied ever belonging to the group, the newspaper said.
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In 2000, Ashcroft, then a U.S. senator from Missouri, and fellow Missouri Republican Sen. Chris Bond issued a written statement supportive of the MEK that was read aloud during a demonstration against a speech by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Newsweek reported in 2002.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/8861158.htm?1c
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