Nakhliat reports: ASMLA, from Activity to Conviction

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According to Nakhliyat report, the background of the formation of this group led by Habib Nabagan dates back to 1999. However, this group announced its existence on 2005, by carrying out several coordinated bombing operations in the city of Ahvaz. The Office of Ahvaz Governor, the Housing and Urban Development Organization, the Program and Budget Organization, and Saman Bank were the targets of those operations, as a result of which hundreds of our dear compatriots were martyred and injured. Following these operations, some members of the terrorist gang were arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death; but their ringleaders fled Iran.

Armed killings, armed robberies, destruction of public property, bombings in public places, bombings in the Department of Environment, bombings in oil transmission lines such as the Abadan-Ahwaz and Mah’shahr oil pipelines, bombings in the Offices of Dezfoul and Abadan cities, holding and storage of firearms, assassinations and intimidation of citizens, as well as espionage for the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia, Israeli Mossad and the CIA, as well as acting against the national security of the country are among the other charges laid against the gang. The armed attack and shooting at the participants in the parade on September 22, 2017, in which more than hundreds of our dear compatriots were martyred or wounded in this cowardly attack was the last terrorist act of this terrorist group.

After their fleeing Iran, the members of this gang settled in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden and received the citizenship of those countries, and from 2005 onwards, pursued their terrorist acts against Iranian citizens from those countries. The group also created news websites, television networks, and social media networks with the support of prominent Western-Arab media outlets, including Al-Arabiya TV and satellite channels, Iran International, BBC, and VOA, and resorting to black propaganda against Iran, they incited Arab citizens of Khouzestan province carry out subversive activities.

The Network, known as Ahwazna, was set up in Denmark with the financial support of Saudi Arabia at the cost of two million euros; in a way that on a daily basis, they had put various psychological operations on the agenda in order to influence the public opinion of the Arab compatriots of Khuzestan. But, following the rift within the Harat al-Nidhal gang in 2015 and its division into two groups, Denmark and the Netherlands, the Dutch version of the network was also launched and broadcast from Ryswick. But after a while, the Ahvazna network, which aired on Ringstead city in Denmark, was shut down for supporting terrorism, and its Dutch license was revoked for the same reason.

Who are the ringleaders of this group?

“Habib Nabgan” known as “Habib Jabr” is the main ringleader of the ASMLA and one of its founders. He fled Iran with his accomplices in 2005 after leading a series of terrorist operations in Ahvaz. He first left for the United Arab Emirates, then to Syria, and from there to Denmark, where, after receiving Danish citizenship, he settled in the city of Ringsted, and from there, with the facilities provided to him by some Western and Arab countries, he established the group’s office and managed the terrorist and separatist activities of the group.

“Yaghoub Nisi” known as “Yaghoub Hor Al-Tastari”, the son-in-law of Habib Nabgan, is the spokesman and media manager of this gang. In the city of Ringstead, along with Nabgan, he was in charge of communicating with various media, especially the opposition and dissident media, which were hostile with our country.

“Nasser Nabgan” or “Nasser Jabr” with the pseudonym “Tamim Farooq Beig” is the brother of Habib Nabgan. He is also a Danish citizen and, along with other members of the group from that country, was involved in anti-Iranian, terrorist and separatist activities.

Habib Farajullah Chaab, better known as Habib Asyud, was the successor to Habib Nabgan, who led the gang after Nabgan was arrested by Danish security forces. Having Swedish citizenship, and following his arrest by the Iranian security forces, he took the responsibility for the terrorist acts of this group since 2005 through the release of the video of his confessions.

“Isa Savari” known as “Isa Mehdi Fakher” is another member of this group who is a citizen of the Netherlands and lives in the country. He is one of the presenters of the Ahwazna TV and satellite network, who, in his programs, incited our Arab compatriots in Khuzestan to commit terrorist and sabotage acts.

Ahmad Nissi, also known as “Ahmad Mola “, is another ringleader of the group and one of its founders, who obtained Dutch citizenship and lived in the Hague. With the emergence of disputes between him and Habib Nabgan, he separated from the group and in 2015, he founded a new group with the same name “Harakat al-Nidhal al-Arabi Litaħrir al-Aḥvaz”(ASMLA) in the Netherlands under his own leadership.

Occurrence of gaps in the group

Following the disputes between the ringleaders of the ASMLA, the group split into two branches, Denmark and the Netherlands. Arguments and disputes between Ahmad Nissi and Habib Nabgan have been over the group’s relations with Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and receiving financial support from them, as well as over the organizing of other groups.

The Saudi support and dollars for the Danish branch (the ASMLA) led by Habib Nabgan had always been very attractive, and that was one of the reasons behind the rift between the ringleaders of the Harakat al-Nidhal; but Ahmad Nissi and his associates benefited less from it; and they gradually came to this understanding that Saudi support is not in their favor because Saudi Arabia was trying to pursue its relations with the group centered on Habib Nabgan; and this annoyed Ahmad Nissi.

Another reason is that Saudi Arabia tried to organize all the Arab separatist groups in Khuzestan under the leadership of Habib Nabgan and make him a prominent figure and make him the leader of the separatists in Khuzestan. For this reason, the Saudis made him the main channel for distributing their million-dollar support among other separatist and terrorist groups, and it has recently reached a point where Saudi Arabia has also provided financial support to non-Arab Iranian separatist groups through the ASMLA and Habib Nabgan.

For instance, before his arrest, Saudi Arabia paid Habib Nabgan the sum of 5 million dollars to strengthen anti-Islamic groups and further pays $ 1.2 million to “Saleh Kamrani”, the ringleader of a terrorist and separatist group in the northwest of the country, so-called “the Central Party of Azerbaijan”, to launch the anti-Iranian network “ANT”. The Saudis also paid $ 2 million through Nabgan to the terrorist group Jaish al-Zolm (Jaish al-Adl).

It was for this reason that the dispute over Saudi financial support for the group, on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia’s efforts to co-operate with Iranian opposition groups led by Habib Nabgan, on the other, led Ahmad Nissi not to tolerate the issue and launch a new branch of the gang under his leadership.

 

What was the destiny these people?

Habib Nabgan, along with his brother Nasser and Yaghoub Nissi, were arrested by Danish security forces in February 2020 on charges of terrorist activities, and a Roskilde court in Denmark charged and found them guilty with plotting terrorist acts and supporting terrorism sentenced them, on February 6, 2007, to 12 years of imprisonment; and it is said that one of them, who is probably Habib Nabgan, is facing revocation of his citizenship.

Habib Farajollah Chaab was arrested by Iranian security forces in November 2014 and is currently undergoing the due legal procedure in the Islamic Revolution Court in Iran. Following the arrest of Habib Asyoud, “Saeid Hamidan” took over the ring leadership of the Denmark Harakat al-Nidhal, and since he is a Swedish citizen, he is currently leading the gang from Denmark.

Issa Mehdi Fakher was arrested by Dutch security forces in the Netherlands at the same time (February 2020) as his other accomplices were arrested in Denmark on terrorism charges, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, last November, by a court in Notre Dame, the Netherlands, for plotting and supporting terrorism. His is currently serving his sentence in prison.

But Ahmad Nissi had a different fate. Following the escalation of the dispute between him and Habib Nabgan, he was shot dead, on November 8, 2017, by an unknown person in front of his house. Although some of Ahmad Nissi’s relatives blamed Iran for the assassination, the Dutch police officially stated that they could not confirm this. Meanwhile, the Iranian Embassy in the Netherlands issued a statement condemning Nissi’s murder and expressing regret over the incident, stating that it would be in full contact and coordination with the Dutch authorities until its dimensions were clarified. After Ahmad Nissi, “Hatem Saddam” leads the Netherlands ASMLA from inside the country.

 

What did the Danish and Dutch media write about this gang and its members?

The Danish News Agency revealed a detailed report citing parts of the Danish intelligence service’s wiretapping file from Habib Nabgan’s office in Ringstead and the group’s chats with each other, revealing the terrorist group’s actions against the national security of Iran. The report states that the documents of the Roskilde court show how both the Netherlands and the Danish branches of the Harakat al-Nidal group, took a series of terrorist measures, including bombing at the populated areas as well as using mortars and automatic weapons and hostage-taking in order to disrupt Iran’s national security. Referring to court documents, wiretapping files and WhatsApp chats, the report deals with various aspects of the terrorist acts of this group and its members against the security of Iranian citizens and describes the cases of those individuals as black.

The report also states the position of the Danish Foreign Ministry in the words of its spokeswoman, Eva Flyvholm: ” It is not acceptable for Denmark that a group of people in our country plan and support terrorism against another country (Iran), with the support of a foreign intelligence service (Saudi Arabia).”

In a detailed report prepared by the investigation program “Argos” of Radio Netherlands, the Dutch radio also gave some details about the actions of the elements of this gang and their connection with the Saudi intelligence service. Referring to the terrorist attack and the shooting of the Harakat al-Nidal gang against the people of Ahvaz during the military parade on September 22, 2018, this report reveals the Riyadh’s contacts with the group’s ring leaders and the arrest of some members of the group in the Netherlands and Denmark.

The report reads: “Several anti-Iranian political activists, based in the Netherlands and Denmark, are involved in terrorist activities against Iran. ‘Issa Savari’ is apparently a political activist and journalist, and has been under Dutch police protection for some time. He was arrested and tried along with others on charges of involvement in terrorist activities led by Riyadh security agencies. Earlier this year, at the same time as Issa Savari was arrested in the Netherlands, Danish police arrested three people, including Habib Jabr.”

“The Danish court documents reveal that the group received at least 2.6 million euros from the Saudi intelligence service for various tasks, including the purchase of weapons,” the report said. Adel Soveidi, a member of the Dutch group, said: “We talked to Saudi Arabia in 2012 to find out what they want, and for them to know what we want”. They have a problem with Iran and say that we can fight Iran together. The most famous of them was Ayad al-Shemri, who approached us as a journalist, but was a Saudi agent. He wanted us to find people not only from Ahvaz, but also from Baluchistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. This man is very dangerous. When Ahmed Nissi was killed, we gave all the information, including about al-Shemari, to the police and the Dutch government.” In response to the question whether the Ahwazna TV station in Rizweik, the Netherlands, also received money from the Saudis, he replied, “Yes, because television needs money, al-Shemri had also gone there when the studio was inaugurated.”

The report adds: “One week after the attack in Ahvaz, Ahwazana TV broadcasts the interview of Issa Fakher with Habib Jabr, in which he defends this violence. In this program, it was stated that the attackers were the separatist heroes and the brave youth of Ahvaz and our members. This program was one of the documents of the Danish authorities to revoke the license of Ahwazna TV in that country. The decision by the Danish Radio and Television Council, of February 20 this year, states that Ahwazna TV has seriously violated the law by broadcasting programs that both directly and indirectly promoted terrorism.

Analysis

On the basis of what has been said, we see that although the ASMLA gang has been carrying out terrorist acts against the Islamic Republic and its citizens over the past years, from the bosom of Westerners and with the support of the Saudis, but the same Westerners, in accordance with the international conventions, could not tolerate the actions and performance of this Gang and its members, to the extent that the elements of this group were arrested and put on trial. The trials were conducted under the title of terrorist acts of a group from the territory of a host country against a third country.

In such a situation that Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden did not tolerate the actions of the members of this gang from their territory against other countries, the question arises, how can the Islamic Republic endure the destructive and bloody terrorist acts of this gang against its citizens and public infrastructure? On the other hand, if the Islamic Republic is impartial in its fight against or prosecution of these separatist and terrorist gangs, are Denmark and the Netherlands also impartial and biased in the face of the Iranian separatists, and are prosecuting them for committing acts of terrorism?

Conviction of members of the Harakat al-Nidal gang, by Danish and Dutch courts, indicates that terrorism is hated and condemned under any heading; and there are no good or bad terrorists! But this does not mean ignoring the obvious contradiction between the Danes and the Dutch in the face of terrorism. On the one hand, they are the refuge of terrorists, and on the other hand, they bring them to justice and prosecute them. This happens while Iran has been warning the host countries about these gangs and their terrorist acts against Iranian citizens for many years, but unfortunately not only no serious action was taken by those countries to confront the gangs and extradite the criminals in compliance with international treaties, but also these terrorists have been pursuing terrorist acts against Iran for years with complete and free security from the territories of countries such as Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Demand of the Iranian nation

Now, the people of Iran, as a rightful demand, call on the Iranian Judiciary to, severely, punish the elements of this terrorist group who have martyred (killed) and injured hundreds of our innocent compatriots and inflicted heavy security and economic damages on our beloved country.

On the other hand, according to the confessions of Habib Asyud and the details of the cases of the ringleaders of the ASMLA gang, published by the official media of Denmark and the Netherlands, the Iranian people call on the Foreign Ministry of Iran to file a complaint against this group in international courts and tribunals and make the required follow-ups.

The Iranian people also demand that the entire ASMLA gang to be designated and recognized as a terrorist organization and its name to be included in the list of the names of international terrorist organizations and in the European Union.

In view of the international arrest warrants issued by the Interpol for the members of this gang, and in order to prosecute and punish those terrorists, the Iranian people call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran and the relevant responsible agencies to take the appropriate action and realize the extradition of those criminals from their host countries, in accordance with international conventions.