Page 136 – Nejat Society

Habilian on the MEK women's rights abuses

Women’s rights abuses inside the MEK

In a cult, both women and men suffer in the iron grip of charismatic and authoritarian cult leaders, however, women followers face a unique set of life-altering issues — and those unique issues often become the focus of media coverage of cult cases.

According to Alexandra Stein, the author of “Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems”, Women’s right to control their bodies, their child-bearing, their sexuality and their mothering are all taken away in cults as the leader grabs control of these most intimate parts of their lives.

The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MeK) is one of these cults which has confined hundreds of women to its walled compound, once in northeast Iraq and now in southeast Europe, on the pretext of protecting their rights. A number of violations of women’s rights have been reported so far by a number of its defected members and international rights groups and institutions.

Habilian on the MEK women's rights abuses

Habilian Association has published a bulletin which contains ten articles covering the issue of Women’s rights abuses within the MEK camps.

The bulletin be may be accessed here.

May 27, 2021 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan, why is it unreliable?

Reviewing the record and performance of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO)/ MEK/ Cult of Rajavi/ PMOI) through history, we will find that their alleged intellectual slogans only have an pleasant cover and in fact it’s “a wolf in sheep’s skin”.
Every year, the congratulation message of Maryam Rajavi, head of the Cult of Rajavi to Christians on the occasion of Christian New Year, marks a question in the mind of informed audience that the appearance of this good-looking message does not fit the cult-like violent nature of the group that have no tolerance regarding different religions, believes and political views.

Indeed, recognition of the MEK’s practices towards religious minorities, especially Christians, inside their cult-like system can remove the intellectual mask of the group so that everyone can understand its undemocratic nature.
Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan for the future of Iran is an absolute parody to what she has practically done in her long-life presidentship in exile. But what are particularly considered as very contradictory in the plan are paragraphs 2 and 4 which explicitly refer to respect for individual freedoms and the prohibition of discrimination against religious followers:

“Section 2. In the future of Iran we respect all individual freedoms. And we emphasize the freedom of speech and the complete freedom of the media and the unobtrusive access to cyberspace.”
“Section 4: Resistance of Iran will defend the separation of religion and state, any discrimination against the followers of all religions will be prohibited”
But history says something else:

MEK Cult current operation - one of the groups self criticism sessions

Massoud Rajavi at the beginning of the “pool sessions” (a title for a series of brainwashing and self-criticism sessions held regularly in the MEK), in 1995, said:
“I want to dissolve the Liberation Army because we cannot overthrow [the Islamic Republic], someone can overthrow the regime that has the support of superpowers, fleet of war and airplanes. I do not have and I cannot have. Because I cannot warm my back to a superpower, we are a revolutionary and liberating force. So, from this moment on, the Liberation Army will be dissolved, you will have to sleep in the street tomorrow.”

Typically, a number of the loyal members of the MKO, begged Rajavi that “brother, do not dismiss the army, whatever you say we do“, and after that, Massoud Rajavi said:
“If you want to be the founding member of the second Liberation Army, you must accept the law book that I am advising you.”

The so-called Book of Law had 76 paragraphs. By the year 2001, the paragraphs were increased. In fact, this book complemented the cult-like drift of the MEK. But among the sectarian rules, there are a few important issues that are relevant to the topic of the article:

“In the relations of the MEK, we cannot have non-Muslims and especially non-Shiite members. Pray and fasting is obligatory. In the relations of the MEK, we cannot have a woman without cover (hijab).”
All Christians and Sunnis are forced to be Shiite, including those who were born Christian. Philip was a Christian who joined the Liberation Army and worked there for many years as a repairman of tanks. Despite his long-time membership in the group, he was not considered an official member of the organization because of he was not Muslim. For him, the increase of level in the organizational hierarchy was conditioned on the abandonment of Christianity.

Edward Termado

After he was coerced by Rajavi’s cult of personality, he converted to Islam and became an official member. While before his arrival, his requests for membership in the organization were rejected promptly because of his Christianity.
Edward Termado was another Christian member of the MEK who had been recruited or was actually deceived by the recruiters. He was forced to say prayers and fast in Ramadan. He left the MEK after 12 years of suffering.
All of the evidences suggest that the MEK leaders’ approach towards religious minorities indicate how unreliable and dishonest is the congratulation message of Maryam Rajavi to Christians on the New Year holiday. Moreover it demonstrates the unreliability of her ten-point plan for future Iran.

May 27, 2021 0 comments

presstv on an mek terror activities in Ahwaz

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

A peek into MKO terrorists dark track record

Having lost over 17,000 people in terror attacks, Iran is a major victim of terrorism. Press TV has visited an Iranian family that was exposed to a terror attack carried out by a formidable US-backed terror group, known as the MKO.

The saying goes that oblivion is a bliss, but to 29-year-old Mohammad, it’s hard to forget a dark memory that not only left him handicapped, but took away all his childhood dreams.

Some 22 years ago, Mohammad and his parents were on a motorbike in a bustling neighborhood in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahwaz, when a shell fired by a terrorist group landed next to them, injuring the whole family.

Mohammad, who was only seven back then, lost his left leg and developed cardiac problems.He still lives with the pain, both physically and mentally.

Mohammad is one of thousands of Iranians who have fallen victim to terrorist attacks, mostly carried out by the MKO terror group.

The terrorist organization is responsible for the killing of 12,000 Iranians out of a total of 17,000 victims of terror attacks in the country.

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the MKO has carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran and fought alongside Iraqi forces in the eight-year Iraq- Iran war in the 1980s.

In 2012, the terror group was relocated from an American military base in Iraq to Albania and France, after the US and Europe delisted the group as a terrorist organization.

Ten years ago, Mohammad filed a lawsuit against the terrorist group at a French court, but to no avail.

It’s so painful to recount one’s agonies, especially when it comes to mothers seeing their children suffer; that’s why I preferred not to ask Mohammad’s mom for comment.

But she says she’s been trying to find an answer to this question through all these years; no word other than “terrorists” can describe those who deprived a child of his childhood.
Yusef Jalali

May 27, 2021 0 comments

Iran

“Ambushing a Rose” published in eight languages

Eight translations of “Ambushing a Rose”, a biography of Lieutenant-General Ali Sayyad Shirazi who served as commander of Ground Forces during the Iran–Iraq war, have recently been published.

The collection was unveiled on Monday at the Sacred Defense Museum during a special ceremony organized to celebrate the liberation anniversary of Khorramshahr.

Written in Persian by Mohsen Momeni-Sharif, “Ambushing a Rose”, also known as “Waiting for the Red Rose”, has been translated into English, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Azerbaijani and Turkish by the Army’s War Archives.

Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander of the Army, Brigadier General Nasser Arasteh, the director of the Army’s War Archives, several military attachés and some cultural figures attended the ceremony.

Army commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi (2nd L) and War Archives director Brigadier General Nasser Arasteh (3rd R) unveil eight translations of the Martyr Ali Sayyad Shirazi’s biography “Ambushing a Rose” at the Sacred Defense Museum in Tehran on May 24, 2021. (ISNA/Mohammad-Ali Asadi)

“Talking about the big victories during the war brings the name of Sayyad Shirazi to our minds, and his name also brings back the sweet memories of the big victories,” Mousavi said in his brief speech made at the ceremony.

For his part, Arasteh said, “All chapters of Martyr Sayyad cannot be covered in a single book. Many books should be written to cover various aspects of his life.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, wrote a commendation for “Ambushing a Rose”, which was originally published by Sureh-Mehr, a major publishing house affiliated with the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization.

“This is an exceptionally interesting example of a report on the war while it is a sweet story of one of its characters,” the Leader wrote in the recommendation published in April 2019.

“I read the entire book thoroughly; it has been written beautifully and artistically. I am quite familiar with many of the incidents described,” he added.

“Of course, many other events of that era and many other words about this dear martyr remain untold. And this is natural, because the prominence of martyr Sayyad Shirazi cannot be showcased in a single book. He was truly an example of a brave and devoted army officer. God bless his soul,” he stated.

Sayyad Shirazi was assassinated on April 10, 1999, outside his house while on his way to work by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) while serving as the deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, the second-highest military office in Iran. The MKO said the act was in revenge for Operation Mersad.

He had led a counter-offensive called Operation Mersad against the MKO militants, who, with the help of Saddam Hussein, launched an attack in the summer of 1988 to capture the western Iranian city of Kermanshah.

May 27, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Alireza was asking for help in fear of MEK torturers

Alireza Esfandiari was welcome by the authorities of the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK/ MKO/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi) when he joined the group after the death of his sister. His sister, Fereshteh had suspiciously died in Iraq
Fereshteh was the presenter of the MEK’s TV channel. In 1995, Her death was announced as being assassinated in a terror attack in Iraq! Alireza joined the group two years later but shortly after his arrival in Camp Ashraf, he got to know that he was on the wrong path. Consequently, he began to express his dissent.

Alireza Esfandiari’s disagreement with the MEK’s cult-like regulations turned him into the topic of long-term meetings. The group commanders held uninterrupted 8-hour-long sessions for several successive days to coerce him to stay in the group. During the meetings he was under severe mental and physical pressure by the side of commanders, in particular Zhila Deihim and also his peers. However, Alireza was courageous enough to insist on his demand to leave the group.

MEK ‘s announcement on the death of Fereshteh Esfandiyari

Farid, former member of the MEK who witnessed Alireza’s brainwashing courts, recalls that Zhila Deihim called Alireza “a coward who pees in his pants because he is scared” and “he wants to embrace the regime” (the Iranian government)!
Farid and Mobayen testify that Alireza was severely beaten in the so-called court of Zhila Deihim. “We did not see Alireza after the court for a few days,” Mobayen writes. “One day we were eating lunch in the eating place when Alireza rushed in. His clothes were torn and dirty. He was crying asking for help. He was horribly scared. Reza Jebeli wanted to help him but Mahmoud Fakhr, Mohamad Karimi and Jamileh Feizi and a few of other commanders hit and beat him and took him out.”

Alireza was no more seen in the MEK. Alireza Esfandiari was disappeared in the MEK in the Summer of 2001, according to Ardeshir Parhizkari, former member of the MEK who, in 2003, signed an appeal to Amnesty International and the UN High Commissioner of Human rights, calling for the trial of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi.

May 26, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Sexual Control in MEK, Separated streets for men and women

Modern Slavery in the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi) includes various destructive practices which has lasted the four-decade history of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi’s ruling over the group. Discrimination, sexist ideas, emotional isolation, peer pressure and sexual control are certain measures of cultic characteristics of the MEK, that were listed by the RAND report on the MEK in 2009.

Defectors and some insiders of the MEK’s Camp Ashraf three in Albania assert that leaders of the group have issued a travel restrictions directive in a new move to impose more sexual control over male and female members. The action is aimed to prevent confrontation of men and women in the streets of Tirana in Albania.

MEK members in Albania

According to the directive, some streets have been allocated to men and some routes have been defined for women’s travel to the city. According to the instructions, each member who has to enter the of Tirana, should travel according to this directive. In case of violating the so-called law, he or she will be subject to punishments. Thus, in a street allocated to women, any work or mission through that street will be given to women, and if a male member of the group is seen in that area, the female members should immediately report the matter to their superiors.

View of some members of the Iranian opposition resistance Mujahedeen-e- Khalq group, who have resettled in Albania from Iraq, in a street, in Tirana, Albania, Friday, May 17, 2013.

As the RAND institute documented, MEK’s sexual control over members is nothing new, Camp Ashraf was a notoriously Known container for Massoud Rajavi’s cult of Personality:
“Despite the MeK’s and NCRI’s claim to support gender equality and the placement of women in leadership roles, men and women are kept strictly apart in MeK camps. Housing is segregated by gender, and in other buildings, lines are painted down the middle of hallways, separating them into men’s and women’s sides. Men and women below the leadership level are prohibited from contact with one another unless they have obtained official case-by-case permission. Shaking hands is prohibited across genders. Even the gas station at Camp Ashraf has separate hours for men and women.”

May 26, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

I was a cult member

I was a cult member living in the closed camp of Mujahedin-e Khalq cult called camp Ashraf.
Several times I decided to leave the group. Yet I got stuck every time I decided to escape the cult camp.
Thanks God, I managed to escape and enter the free world after the collapse of Saddam Hussein.
Now I live my own way of life. I decide for my own destiny. I have family, friends .. .

Fazel Farhadi

I want to send my message to my ex-friends who are still captive behind the bars of the MEK cult as well as other cults’ members: free yourself. Freedom is sweet. the cult leaders deceive you and abuse you on the way of their own interests.
Fazel Farhadi, former member of the MEK Cult

May 25, 2021 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

The history of assassinations in the Cult of Rajavi

The half a century history of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi) testifies that terror and violence are an integral part of the essence of the group. Terror is the most important tool that has always been used by the MEK, not only for the Iranian people, but also for the purpose of silencing and removing members of the organization.

Over the years, the international community continues to see the continuation of the physical removal of members of the MEK with new methods in Europe and in Albania under direct command of the group leaders.
By studying and analyzing Cults, a common cause is deduced that all destructive cults in their internal relations are subject to brainwashing and mental control. However, despite all the control measures, they are struggling with their critical members because of their inability to provide reasonable argument.

The MEK, as a notorious destructive cult, is no exception. In fact, the beginning of this cult has begun with the assassinations and has continued until now. For Taqi Shahram, who was one of the first leaders of the group, the physical removal was the best solution to the disengagement of the domestic opposition, which later his legacy was inherited by Massoud Rajavi. He institutionalized physical elimination of dissident members in the MEK.
The leaders of the MEK have always used this method to silence the voices of dissent inside their establishment to avoid the secondary consequences of protest and criticism which is defection and eventually revelations on the suppressive atmosphere of the group.

Taghi Shahram and Massoud Rajavi

The method has intensified in the secretive organization of the MEK since its relocation in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, where the MEK were able to exercise any pressure on their forces. Many members of the organization were assassinated during the years in Iraq, due to their opposition to the leaders’ views, requests for departure, rejection of orders, or simply complaint against a cult-like regulation.

In all these cases, the leaders of the MEK fabricated fake scenarios such as killing in the battle fields and suicide, and it was never possible for the victims’ relatives to pursue the crimes. Even in some cases, no information was given on the victimized person, and no one was even allowed to seek information.
It may seem like a joke that after the assassination of these members, the group commanders looked for criminals. Many of the individuals listed as the ancestors of the MEK, have been assassinated by the group leaders in the internal purges of the organization, but they are now boasted as martyrs of the MEK who have been killed by Iranian or Iraqi forces. Ali Zarkesh is an example of such eliminations.

Also after the occupation of Iraq by the United States, the leaders of the Cult of Rajavi repeatedly declared a number of their victims as the casualties of US missile attacks and bombs. There is a long list of people killed or injured, while many of them, especially the injured ones, were the result of tortures and cult-like suppressions. Parviz Ahmadi is a case who was killed under torture by MEK commanders but was declared as a victim of American invasion.

The assassination of members, the sudden disappearance of members in MEK camps, the prevention of visiting, and even the contact of parents with children in the camps and even the denial of the existence of such persons in the camps are some examples of the cult-like terrorist activities of the MEK in its half-a-century history.
However, during the deployment of the group at Camp Liberty in Iraq and after members were enrolled by the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, the group leaders were not so free hands to commit any crime. However, dissent and demands to leave were still factors to risk the life of members.

human rights watch

In fact, the heavy consequences of defection from the Cult of Rajavi made leaders keep on suppression and intimidation against their members. The consequences include testimonies of defectors on human rights violations committed by the MEK leaders, whether in the media or international courts and human rights bodies.
Now in Albania, the same procedure is the only solution to the MEK leaders against dissidents. However, they were not successful to stop the rise in defections from the group. This time, however, the organization’s scenarios for removal of members have varied slightly due to the high age of people present in the group, excuses such as illness are raised. Suspicious deaths at the headquarters of the MEK in Albania reveals new scenarios for the removal of dissatisfied members.

First of all, the suspicious deaths include those who seek to leave the group. When mental and even physical pressures are not successful, they start designing to remove the person. Because a protester, a critic and a separatist is able to spread the voice of objection and doubts over the organization to other forces and spread dissatisfaction.

One of the methods of physical removal of members, which is now very common in Albania, is death due to illness. In some cases, members of the group are taken to Albanian hospitals, due to illnesses but they die for reasons other than the illness. Some cases include poisoning, which according to the defectors, is a usual method used by the MEK to eliminate dissidents. Behzad Massoudi suffered a disease for many years, eventually died in Albania suspiciously, and the cause of his death was announced by the hospital as poisoning.

Malek Sharaee Killed by MEK Maryam Rajavi Cult in Albania

A paid advert by MEK (Maryam Rajavi cult) in Albanian media

The incident is another method used in Albania to remove the dissatisfied members physically. In Albania, unlike the Camp Ashraf, where excuses such as gunfire or an explosion of a grenade as a cause of death were regularly announced as the cause of deaths, causes such as drowning in the pool are reported as causes of death. Malek Sharaee in Albania, whose death was announced as drowning in the pool is an example. While this person was a Lifeguard, his death at the pool was an unpredictable scenario for those who were not even familiar with him.
Apart from the methods of murder in Albania, the investigation of specific actions in the headquarters of the MEK in the country is sometimes followed by suspicious deaths and physical expulsions. Since the early 2016, exactly during the time Maryam Rajavi was stationed in Albania, mortality rates increased in the MEK, and just in one stage death of three people, Fakhri Isfahanian, Akbar Chavoshi, and Ali Khalkhal were announced.

In the same manner, the group appears to be in a critical condition, abolishing protesters to intimidate others. All in all, those present at the headquarters of the MEK in Albania are at high risk as long as they are under the control of the leaders of the destructive cult of Rajavi. This is now happening in a European country, which, unlike the deserts of Iraq, allows us to pursue the cases.

Human rights organizations such as “Human Rights Watch“, who sent a representative in a customary way to document the allegations made by the MEK to Albania, should also be cautious to these incidents and respond in accordance with essential duty.

May 25, 2021 0 comments

Albania

Documentation Frees MEK Members

When the MEK cult was transferred to Albania in 2016, the members were brought by the UNHCR without documentation. They were given $100 US and a piece of paper stating they were being moved ‘on humanitarian grounds’. On arrival in Tirana, the MEK leaders swapped the 100 US dollars for 100 Albanian Lek (worth approximately one dollar). The arrivals were not given ID papers but were left as undocumented foreigners. A new law, however, named ‘For Foreigners’ will soon rectify this situation.

The new legislation was approved by Albania’s Council of Ministers in December last year. It has now been reviewed by Albania’s Commission on European Integration, which announced that it meets EU requirements. According to Albanian officials, the legislation, which has been in the pipeline for a while, seeks to address shortcomings in the bureaucratic system so as to streamline documentation for various foreign individuals. Examples given are

“residence permits of persons without citizenship; residence permits for pensioners; residence permits for travelling employees, i.e. those foreign nationals working in different countries, not in an office or in an institution headquarters and whose work mostly involves travelling; and permits for those who use real estate owned by them in the Republic of Albania”.

Mr. Gjergji Thanasi, Albanian author and human rights activist

The first Iranians to benefit from the new law are those who have rejected membership of the MEK but who, without proper documentation, have struggled to establish themselves in society. Journalist Gjergji Thanasi, who has followed the plight of these former MEK members for the past four years, explained the changes:

“previously there was a problem with getting various permits from different departments – residence, work, travel, etc. Now, foreigners will be issued with a single permit, a White Card, which gives them all the rights of Albanian citizenship, except the right to vote. After a while, they will be issued a Green Card which will entitle them to full citizenship rights.”

Hasan Heyrani, MKO former member in Tirana

For the former MEK members, this has been a welcome development. Hassan Heyrani said:

“I have been managing a coffee shop to make a living. But I can now incorporate my own business and buy property. This will make a huge difference in all our lives. The White Card will even allow us to arrange family reunions”.

The former members have applied for the single permit and have received registration numbers pending the issue of the White Cards in a month or two.

The new law also applies to the MEK members in Camp Ashraf 3 in Durres county. MEK leader Maryam Rajavi has already been reported to be working to hide this law from the members, and to take steps to mitigate its effects. Members are being asked to sign papers waiving any rights to independent life. They must swear an oath to identify as a member of the MEK cult rather than an individual with individual rights. The problem for Rajavi is that although she has already denied the members every one of the rights and freedoms contained in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the principles set out by Article 30 in this document is that nobody can give away or waive their own rights and freedoms.

Heyrani anticipates this could be the end of the MEK as a cult.

“Once the members become aware that they can leave the organisation and enjoy the rights and benefits of Albanian citizenship, Rajavi’s hold over them will be broken”, he said. This author reminds readers that when the MEK were in Iraq, the members were also undocumented: “Members used organisational names rather than their own, to ‘lose their individuality’. Those who needed to travel used fake passports, or passports belonging to other members and supporters. The members were told that this was for security purposes since the Iranian government were spying on them. The real reason was to prevent members having valid documentation. Members were reminded that if they tried to leave the organisation, the punishment under Saddam Hussein for anyone without identity papers or a passport was an automatic 8 prison sentence as an illegal immigrant. That meant, most members would not dare leave. Several who leave did were imprisoned in Abu Ghraib prison under this law.”

Leaked photo of MEK’s Albanian headquarters

In Albania, Maryam Rajavi has benefitted from the notorious corruption in the country, from government down. She has benefitted from the tacit support of the CIA. This has allowed her to hold the members as undocumented slaves, totally dependent on the organisation for all their basic needs. People who managed to leave the cult have often struggled for some time to survive without the necessary documents that would allow them to work. In a matter of weeks, this situation will end. All the Iranians who came to Albania in 2016 will be able to register for the new documentation which will facilitate their break with the Rajavi cult and enable them to live freely and healthily in society.

A summary of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1: We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas and we should all be treated the same way.

Article 2: The rights in the UDHR belong to everyone, no matter who we are, where we’re from, or whatever we believe.

Article 3: We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.

Article 4: No one should be held as a slave, and no one has the right to treat anyone else as their slave.

Article 5: No one has the right to inflict torture, or to subject anyone else to cruel or inhuman treatment.

Article 6: We should all have the same level of legal protection whoever we are, and wherever in the world we are.

Article 7: The law is the same for everyone, and must treat us all equally.

Article 8: We should all have the right to legal support if we are treated unfairly.

Article 9: Nobody should be arrested, put in prison, or sent away from our country unless there is good reason to do so.

Article 10: Everyone accused of a crime has the right to a fair and public trial, and those that try us should be independent and not influenced by others.

Article 11: Everyone accused of a crime has the right to be considered innocent until they have fairly been proven to be guilty.

Article 12: Nobody has the right to enter our home, open our mail, or intrude on our families without good reason. We also have the right to be protected if someone tries to unfairly damage our reputation.

Article 13: We all have the right to move freely within our country, and to visit and leave other countries when we wish.

Article 14: If we are at risk of harm we have the right to go to another country to seek protection.

Article 15: We all have the right to be a citizen of a country and nobody should prevent us, without good reason, from being a citizen of another country if we wish.

Article 16: We should have the right to marry and have a family as soon as we’re legally old enough. Our ethnicity, nationality and religion should not stop us from being able to do this. Men and women have the same rights when they are married and also when they’re separated. We should never be forced to marry. The government has a responsibility to protect us and our family.

Article 17: Everyone has the right to own property, and no one has the right to take this away from us without a fair reason.

Article 18: Everyone has the freedom to think or believe what they want, including the right to religious belief. We have the right to change our beliefs or religion at any time, and the right to publicly or privately practise our chosen religion, alone or with others.

Article 19: Everyone has the right to their own opinions, and to be able to express them freely. We should have the right to share our ideas with who we want, and in whichever way we choose.

Article 20: We should all have the right to form groups and organise peaceful meetings. Nobody should be forced to belong to a group if they don’t want to.

Article 21: We all have the right to take part in our country’s political affairs either by freely choosing politicians to represent us, or by belonging to the government ourselves. Governments should be voted for by the public on a regular basis, and every person’s individual vote should be secret. Every individual vote should be worth the same.

Article 22: The society we live in should help every person develop to their best ability through access to work, involvement in cultural activity, and the right to social welfare. Every person in society should have the freedom to develop their personality with the support of the resources available in that country.

Article 23: We all have the right to employment, to be free to choose our work, and to be paid a fair salary that allows us to live and support our family. Everyone who does the same work should have the right to equal pay, without discrimination. We have the right to come together and form trade union groups to defend our interests as workers.

Article 24: Everyone has the right to rest and leisure time. There should be limits on working hours, and people should be able to take holidays with pay.

Article 25: We all have the right to enough food, clothing, housing and healthcare for ourselves and our families. We should have access to support if we are out of work, ill, elderly, disabled, widowed, or can’t earn a living for reasons outside of our control. An expectant mother and her baby should both receive extra care and support. All children should have the same rights when they are born.

Article 26: Everyone has the right to education. Primary schooling should be free. We should all be able to continue our studies as far as we wish. At school we should be helped to develop our talents, and be taught an understanding and respect for everyone’s human rights. We should also be taught to get on with others whatever their ethnicity, religion, or country they come from. Our parents have the right to choose what kind of school we go to.

Article 27: We all have the right to get involved in our community’s arts, music, literature and sciences, and the benefits they bring. If we are an artist, a musician, a writer or a scientist, our works should be protected and we should be able to benefit from them.

Article 28: We all have the right to live in a peaceful and orderly society so that these rights and freedoms can be protected, and these rights can be enjoyed in all other countries around the world.

Article 29: We have duties to the community we live in that should allow us to develop as fully as possible. The law should guarantee human rights and should allow everyone to enjoy the same mutual respect.

Article 30: No government, group or individual should act in a way that would destroy the rights and freedoms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

May 24, 2021 0 comments

Albania

Maryam Rajavi Corrupt Advocate, Albanian Sali Berisha Under Sanction

US sanctions Albanian ex-PM Sali Berisha over corruption

The US State Department on Wednesday sanctioned former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his immediate family members, citing “involvement in significant corruption. “

“In his official capacity as Prime Minister of Albania in particular, Berisha was involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.

Former President of Albania Sali Berisha’s corrupt acts undermined democracy in Albania. I am publicly designating Berisha and his immediate family members as ineligible for entry into the United States. We remain #UnitedAgainstCorruption with our partners in Albania.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 19, 2021

Former President of Albania Sali Berisha at an MEK terrorists event

76-year-old Berisha, who is now a lawmaker in the opposition Democratic Party, will be barred from entering US territory along with his spouse and their two children.

The move will serve to “reaffirm the need for accountability and transparency in Albania’s democratic institutions, government processes, and the actions of Albanian public officials,” Blinken said.

The State Department furthermore reiterated” the US commitment to supporting political reforms key to Albania’s democratic institutions.”

Taulant Balla, general secretary of Albania’s ruling Socialist party, hailed the US decision.

“I welcome the decision of the United States of America regarding Sali Berisha,” Balla wrote. “It is a beautiful day for the Albanian Democracy.”

There was no immediate reaction from Berisha nor from his Democratic party.

Berisha became the country’s first post-communist president from 1992 until 1997. He served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013.

Corruption has been an endemic problem in the Western Balkans nation since the fall of communism and a sticking point in the country’s negotiations to join the European Union.

Euro News,

Also read the US State Department Statement:

Public Designation of Albanian Sali Berisha Due to Involvement in Significant Corruption
PRESS STATEMENT

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE,MAY 19, 2021

Today, I am announcing the public designation of Sali Berisha, a former President of Albania, former Prime Minister of Albania, and former Member of Parliament of Albania, due to his involvement in significant corruption.  In his official capacity as Prime Minister of Albania in particular, Berisha was involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members at the expense of the Albanian public’s confidence in their government institutions and public officials. Furthermore, his own rhetoric demonstrates he is willing to protect himself, his family members, and his political allies at the expense of independent investigations, anticorruption efforts, and accountability measures. With this designation, I am reaffirming the need for accountability and transparency in Albania’s democratic institutions, government processes, and the actions of Albanian public officials.

This designation is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021. In addition to Berisha, I am publicly designating his spouse, Liri Berisha, his son, Shkelzen Berisha, and his daughter, Argita Berisha Malltezi. These individuals are ineligible to travel to the United States.

This designation reaffirms the U.S. commitment to supporting political reforms key to Albania’s democratic institutions.  The United States continues to stand with the people of Albania.  The Department will continue to use authorities like this to promote accountability for corrupt actors in this region and globally.

For more information, please contact INL-PAPD@state.gov.

May 24, 2021 0 comments

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