++ Nejat Society Tehran branch published an interesting analysis called ‘the 313 disciples of Imam Zaman’. It explains that in the Shia tradition there are three kinds of people who will follow the Imam Zaman when he returns. 313 will be resurrected with him in Mecca and the revolution will not start without them. The second group are the commanders and true believers who will come to help when the 313 return. The third group are those who will join once the revolution has started. Massoud Rajavi has conducted talks with his commanders and told them ‘we need just under a thousand people in Camp Liberty and the rest can go. These are the 313 who will be resurrected with me’. This means that anyone asking to be transferred to Albania can be told ‘no, you are one of the chosen ones and cannot leave. The revolution can only start if you stay.’ [It is also an indication that Rajavi intends to use them as suicide soldiers. – Iran-Interlink]

++ Soroush Dana sent an article for Iran-Interlink explaining another kind of deception by Rajavi. He says Rajavi used to force us to sit and imagine ‘if you weren’t with the MEK but on the other side of the border what would you be?’ People would write whatever came into their minds – for example, that ‘I would be one of the Revolutionary Guards and I would be your enemy and so I thank you for being here so I didn’t have to be like that’. People would write in good faith to show their loyalty (and often just to get rid of the burden of constant confessions). Dana then says that this information is now being used against former MEK members by the MEK which selects and publishes specific paragraphs written in their handwriting which, according to Rajavi, ‘proves’ they were torturers or murderers before they joined the MEK. Dana explains these are paragraphs from those imaginary writings written in good faith. Dana has published several and asks why would anyone ever write this without instruction from the MEK. One example was from a person who had never been in Iran and had lived all his life in Europe but claimed he was a torturer there.

++ Hamed Sarafpour wrote an article titled ‘Prisoners, a tool for murder and advertisement for Rajavi’. He says ‘not only does Rajavi use any kind of prisoner (thieves, murderers and drug dealers) and claim they belong to him – even when they deny it – but he also publishes letters in their names, simply because they can’t stop him. The latest ridiculous example is ‘written’ by prisoner Arjang Davoodi who announces in his letter ‘the continuation of armed struggle’ and how they ‘will continue and kill the mullahs’. Ironically he then invites everyone to join the MEK rally on 9 July in Paris, which doesn’t match with the rest of the letter. Sarafpour asks ‘does he have access to a computer and the internet in prison to log in to MEK sites while the internet in Iran is filtered throughout the country? Then is he really able to write a letter from prison and send it to Europe which threatens violence against the state? Unbelievable.’

++ During the last two weeks a few ex members have replied to the nasty things Rajavi puts out in his sites against them – which mostly consists of swearing. Iran Efshahgah site in particular, in which nine sentences out of ten are swearing. This week Ali Moradi in Lorestan who is vocal in universities exposing the MEK has written a short note. He says ‘I saw what Rajavi said against me. It is interesting that he follows my activities in such detail that he has put together a timeline. I took a look at it and concluded that considering the numerous crimes Rajavi has been committing against ordinary people, I should self-criticise for not doing enough work in comparison. I will try harder in future to work to expose his crimes.’

++ Nejat Society has published the third part of ‘Mothers, the forgotten victims’. In a series of short interviews, the story of Najibeh Ershadi from Ardebil is told.

++ Forty more Camp Liberty residents, in two groups of twenty, have arrived in Albania in the last two weeks. Their names are published in Farsi but not yet in English.

++ Former MEK members and other supporters have begun a leafletting campaign in Paris to draw public attention to the deceptive and dangerous nature of the MEK in the lead up to the July 9 rally to celebrate armed struggle.

In English:

++ Peyvand-e Rahayee website reported a meeting between former MEK members with the deputy ambassador to Poland at the country’s embassy in Paris. The delegation comprised Mohammad Karami and his wife who is Polish and Ghorbanali Hosseinnejad. Both Karami and Hosseinnejad were formerly high-ranking members of the MEK cult. The meeting lasted for more than three hours. The delegation exposed the Rajavi cult’s illegal and clandestine activities in Poland including the group’s efforts at deceiving public opinion. In particular deceiving young people into participating in its June 9th gathering in Paris – which is to celebrate the group’s start of armed struggle against the current Iranian government. The two ex-members also exposed the terrorist and inhumane nature of the MEK cult, presenting more than 90 pages of documentation on the group’s crimes and terrorist activities. The deputy ambassador of Poland welcomed the delegation and eagerly considered the topics.

++ Open letters have been written by former MEK members to various people who have been invited to the MEK’s July 9 rally in Paris. Hassan Piransar and Ali Akbar Rastgou this week wrote to expose the MEK’s deceptions.

 July 01, 2016

++ More has been written about the start of the MEK’s armed struggle in 1981 when they began killing people in Iran and also the 17th June 2003 self-immolations. One of the MEK’s regular writers called Alireza Khaloukakai wrote an open letter to Hamid Orefah, one of the self-immolation victims from London who was badly disfigured as a result. In response to this, Mirbagher Sedaghi in Switzerland wrote an article lashing him, saying ‘as years go by you get nastier and nastier. I know you and Orefah. I know why you are writing and why he did it. He performed the self-immolation on their order and then they wrote things on his behalf, including an interview in a local newspaper in London with the famous irrelevant quote that ‘I burned myself because people in Iran don’t have football’. After that we got news that Orefah could have had operations to save his legs from disability and disfigurement, but since the treatment wasn’t available free on the NHS the MEK refused to pay for private treatment in spite of Maryam Rajavi having so much money.’

++ Nejat Society has started a series of articles about the mothers of MEK hostages. Last week was the story of Soraya Abdullahi and this week was about Roghiyeh Farazian (or Nedai). Both have sons in the MEK with whom they are denied contact by the MEK leader. One son was a POW during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. The other had gone to Turkey to find work but was deceived by MEK recruiters into going to Iraq where he was then trapped. More stories are to follow.

++ Mohammad Razaghi’s short article on his weblog is titled ‘Where is this place?’ The pictures show the huge apartment blocks in Tirana to which the MEK have been transferred. What is most interesting is the external aspect. The residents are not allowed to open a single curtain, and the fear of those guarding it is obvious. Razaghi comments, ‘If you look at this, it looks like a girls’ dormitory in a restricted Islamic country or a prison camp or a place created to hide and protect some very important officials. But this is just the MEK hiding the people brought from Iraq, keeping them in same conditions as Camp Liberty without their consent. This is nothing less than a continuation of the slavery which has been going on for three decades. And of course, this is happening in collusion with their backers.’

++ After a long disappearance, Manouchehr Hezarkhani from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has returned to write for Rajavi again. This time interestingly he has been barking at Mehdi Bazargan – Ayatollah Khomeini’s first Prime Minister – labelling him a traitor and claiming that Rajavi is the only person for the people of Iran. In response, Iran Fanous Association published an article clarifying several points. One is ‘how and why’ Hezarkhani disappeared in the first place. The dispute, apparently, has nothing to do with his ideas but is purely about money. Why? Because this Council doesn’t have to worry about answering or persuading ‘the people’ in its writing. No. Quite simply, if the MEK simply cuts their money for any length of time, they are forced to come back and write for them. Another question is ‘Why suddenly attack someone who died many years ago?’ Well, Bazargan left Iran for a short time for medical reasons. At that time Rajavi was trying to deceive and buy anybody he could (such as the singer Shahjarian, etc) and so sent people to try to recruit him to join the resistance. Bazargan wrote back saying ‘I love my country and I love my wife, and above all, I don’t have a daughter you can marry, so I can’t join your resistance!’ (In other words, I won’t be used like Mehdi Abrishamchi nor taken in like Abol Hassan Bani Sadr). The article concludes that not long ago, Hezarkhani used to sit and eat with Saddamists. ‘If you sit near him you can still smell the food they ate together. How dare somebody like that speak out at all. He was a slave to Rajavi and Rajavi was a slave to Saddam.’

In English:

++ History of Iran website re-published Chapter Two of the book ‘Saddam’s Private Army How Rajavi changed Iran’s Mojahedin from armed revolutionaries to an armed cult’ by Anne Singleton (Khodabandeh). The chapter deals with the events surrounding Massoud Rajavi’s first bid for power in 1981.

++ Several articles and open letters have been written to various officials regarding the transfer of MEK residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq to a new closed base in Tirana, Albania. Families are demanding the right to have contact with their loved ones in spite of Rajavi’s efforts to deny this.

June 24, 2016