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Disappearances Kidnapping Eliminations – MEK Modus Operandi

The recent disappearance of former MEK member Hadi Sani Khani from Albania is not a new phenomenon as this Special Briefing shows. Ten years ago, Ambassador Daniel Fried, US Special Advisor for Camp Ashraf in Iraq, acknowledged that Camp Ashraf had been “a kind of independent, self-governed, autonomous, extraterritorial facility… for many years”.

Hadi Sanikhani

This state has been replicated in Albania in Camp Ashraf 3 in Manez. He acknowledged that residents of the camp had not always got there voluntarily, referring to the RAND Corporation report and that of Human Rights Watch, and that potential threats to the residents may be internal rather than external.
Since arriving in Albania, several MEK members have been killed or gone missing from the extraterritorial facility there.

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American Special Advisor, Daniel Fried: Take a look at RAND and HRW reports on Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult

American State Department, December 20 2011

US State Departement

MR. VENTRELL: Okay. So we’ll go ahead and get started. Everybody, this is Ambassador Fried. This session is on the record, unless otherwise indicated. We do have the director of our Iraq office here to go into some further detail if necessary. But as we start, this is all on the record, unless otherwise indicated.
So Ambassador Fried, please go ahead.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I’ll start out with some prepared remarks and then take your questions if that’s all right. Oh, and forgive me if I speak a little slowly. This is the result of Novocain and the dentist this morning.

The U.S. seeks a safe, secure, humane resolution of the impasse at Camp Ashraf. Our interest is humanitarian and independent of our views of the MEK’s past record. Thanks to intense efforts by Ambassador Martin Kobler, the head of the UN Mission in Iraq, a reasonable path forward for a safe and secure relocation from Ashraf to Camp Liberty is at hand. On Christmas Day, Kobler signed with the Government of Iraq an MOU that provides details of the transfer and commitments from the Iraqi Government for the safety and security of the residents of Camp Ashraf.

The residents of Camp Ashraf will be moved from Camp Ashraf to former Camp Liberty, which used to be a U.S. military facility and is located near the Baghdad Airport. UNHCR is – will begin immediately to process these people for refugee status. At the same time, those wishing to return voluntarily to Iran as, by the way, several hundred from Ashraf have already done, will be able to do so.

The UN will conduct 24/7 monitoring at Camp Liberty – or former Camp Liberty. In addition, Embassy Baghdad will visit former Camp Liberty on a frequent basis to provide robust observation. The Government of Iraq has agreed in this MOU to the safety and security of Camp Liberty and those there and not to forcibly repatriate any resident of Camp Ashraf/former Camp Liberty to Iran. The Government of Iraq accepted many of Ambassador Kobler’s suggestions, and the plan agreed now reflects major progress since the discussions began. Secretary Clinton, the EU, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have all publicly welcomed the signing of the MOU and have urged that it be implemented in good faith by all sides.

This is Iraq we’re talking about, however. We must be realistic about the difficulties. We’re also acutely aware of the mistrust and even animosity between the MEK and many Iraqis, given the MEK’s history in Iraq. We’re concerned by the recent series of rocket attacks on Ashraf and we condemn them. While these have not caused injuries or damaged property, they heighten and underscore the risks in this situation. U.S. facilities in the area have also been under attack recently.

The UN has expressed its concerns about these attacks to the Iraqi Government. We are doing so as well. Nevertheless and for – perhaps especially because of these attacks, it’s important to move ahead with the MOU. We welcome the willingness expressed yesterday by the MEK to cooperate with implementation of the MOU, specifically their announcement that they are prepared to move the first 400 persons to Camp – to former Camp Liberty. That move is being prepared now.

The UN is putting its assets in place for monitoring and refugee processing. It’s up to the Iraqi Government to prepare Camp Liberty, to receive the first residents of Ashraf, and this is likely to take several more days at least. It’s important that this first move be followed by other moves from Ashraf to former Camp Liberty. Ashraf is relatively isolated and, frankly, less secure than Liberty will be with its UN monitoring and a frequent U.S. presence. We also hope the day-to-day issues of camp management can be worked out on the ground as, hopefully, confidence grows.

The good news is that we are finally entering a phase of implementing an agreement that’s been painfully negotiated and is understood by all sides. But implementation will take sustained cooperation and patience by all. The U.S. will remain closely engaged in all stages of this process.
So with that, let me take your questions.

QUESTION: So how many people in all are we talking about moving? You said a few hundred have gone back to Iran.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: The MEK says there are about 3,200 people at Camp Ashraf. Years ago, when the – in the early phases of the Iraq conflict, we identified about that number of people, but we don’t know how many people are there now. We don’t know how many have left.

QUESTION: Okay. But several hundred, you said, have gone back to Iran?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: We – yes. We believe several hundred have gone back to Iran voluntarily over the years, not recently. Recently, a number of people at Camp Ashraf have gone back to European countries where they have either citizenship or long-term residency. This has been relatively small in numbers, but it’s picked up in recent weeks.

QUESTION: And do you get the sense that some of these people that will be moving over to Liberty are going to want to move on further or that could be their —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, they all want to move out of Iraq. That seems to be – well, let me back up by saying we don’t know actually what the residents of Camp Ashraf want. We know what their leaders say they want. And what they say they want is for them to leave Iraq in safety and security. There is some number – and estimates vary very widely – of how many will actually want to go back to Iran.

Our view is that if residents of Camp Ashraf want to go back to Iran, this is their right, but it has to be really voluntary and not, quote, “voluntary.” That’s why I mention that some hundreds have gone back already. According to international organizations, there is no evidence that they have been mistreated by the Iranians, but we can’t verify that independently for ourselves.

QUESTION: Have they – have the Camp Ashraf group – have they given you any sort of timeline that – you said the first 400 are going to be ready to move. When do you expect them actually to move? When is the camp going to be able to accept them? And do you have a sense that there’s going to be a clear follow-on from that, that they’re going to keep on moving more and more people? Or is this first 400 sort of a test group?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: In the last 48 hours, we have been heartened by the increased willingness of the leaders of Camp Ashraf and the MEK leadership in Paris to participate in this process. We believe that the first 400 are ready to move soon. The – as I said, former Camp Liberty has to be set up, the infrastructure has to be put in place, and this will – it’ll take, we think, at least several days for this to be done. But under the circumstances, we think that the 400 should move as soon as possible, and this should be followed up by more moves.
There are issues of how the new facility will run. Some of these issues were addressed in the MOU. But in reality, they can be worked out on the ground. It’s important now that people start leaving Camp Ashraf, which is really not a secure place, and move to a place where they can be processed by the UNHCR. So we very much hope that as many people will move out as fast as can be accommodated. The first 400 is a good start; it needs to be followed up.

QUESTION: Well, just on the resettlement issue. I understand in the past there was some demands on the part of the Camp Ashraf or MEK that they be done in groups, that they want (inaudible) all go together. What can you – just walk us through what the current understanding is of how and where they might go?
AMBASSADOR FRIED: You are correct that the MEK in the past made many demands, and it wasn’t until recent weeks that it started working with Ambassador Kobler in a serious way. We are very glad that they decided to do so. Late is far better than never, and it’s never too late to do the right thing. So they have done the right thing by working with Ambassador Kobler.

Specific to your question, the UNHCR does not do group refugee designations. They’ve made it clear that they are prepared look at them as individuals and to begin immediately to process them. We’ve also encouraged the people at Camp Ashraf to send in this – in the early group, in the group of 400 and other early groups, those with the strongest ties to the outside world – that is citizens of European countries, citizens of the United States, if there are more still there. We know of only two left there, but we – there could be more. If they send out those with the strongest ties, those will be the easiest to move out of Iraq. And it’s important to show the Iraqi Government and Iraqis and the people of Camp Ashraf this process can work all the way, meaning from Ashraf to former Camp Liberty and out of Iraq safely.

QUESTION: But isn’t there some risk in that, that if you’re starting with the easiest cases then the hard cases are just going to sit there, right?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, the hard cases aren’t going to get any easier with – easier if you move them up front. Move – our view is move those who can most easily move. There are – in terms of numbers, there are a lot of unknowns. But if you start with a topline of 3,200 people, there is – you have to subtract the number of people who may have left. We don’t have it accounted for, so it’s 32 minus X. Then it is minus those will really want to go back to Iran, and there’ll be arrangements in place for them to do so. Then you take away the number of people with citizenship or strong compelling ties to foreign countries. Then you – what you have left is the group which will be interviewed individually for refugee status by the UNHCR. So hopefully those groups subtracted from the topline number will be as big as possible, but we just don’t know.

QUESTION: Is there a risk that you’re just moving – even if it’s Liberty as a more secure place, you’re just moving the problem a few miles?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, there is no way that Ashraf was going to be the venue for the UNHCR interviews. And for reasons having to do with history and the history of the MEK in Iraq, there was no way that the Government of Iraq was going to allow a Camp Ashraf to exist as it was. So for those reasons, this move is critical to start the process in earnest.

QUESTION: Why do you think the MEK has changed its tune? Have you offered them anything? Like, will it be easier for them to get off the terrorism list if they cooperate?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: We have not offered them anything, but it is, I think – and I can’t read their minds, but I think that it became very clear that the United States was (A) concerned with their welfare and willing to put substantial efforts into this process, and (B) quite serious that we could do nothing if they were going to stand pat with maximalist, unachievable positions.

So I think they realized that they had a reasonable offer made by one of the strongest UN officials I’ve ever worked with, Ambassador Kobler. They had the full engagement of the U.S. Embassy in Ambassador Jeffrey. They had the strong interest of Secretary Clinton and other senior people in the U.S. Government. And I think they realized that now was the time to deal seriously.

QUESTION: Does the designation affect their migration status at all, their eligibility to go to any other country, let alone the U.S.?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: One of the enduring urban legends of this process is that the MEK’s current status as a foreign terrorist organization, so listed by the American Government, is in itself a great impediment to resettlement and that removing them from that list would suddenly make many more eligible that are not now eligible. That apparently, as it has been explained to me by those very familiar with American immigration laws, is not true.

The FTO designation process is quite independent from my office and what we’re doing. I haven’t participated in this, in the paperwork. We will – the United States will look at people at Camp Ashraf or future Camp – those who will be at former Camp Liberty on a case-by-case basis. The status of the MEK as a foreign terrorist organization is not, by itself, disqualifying to any particular individual. And removal of the MEK from that list, if it were to happen in the future, would not necessarily make eligible someone who is now statutorily ineligible.

QUESTION: So you can be a member of a foreign terrorist organization and not an American citizen and be given political refugee status in the United States?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: That isn’t what I said.

QUESTION: Right. But I’m asking —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: What I said was it is not – we are going to look at these people on an individual basis. They may have arrived at Camp Ashraf under all sorts of circumstances.

QUESTION: Okay.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: The reason I’m hesitating and being very careful is because interpretation of our immigration laws is not my business at all, and the Department of Homeland Security has, let’s say, a very great deal to say on this subject. But I’ve – in my conversations with them, it’s clear that they’re prepared to look at individuals, but against, obviously, our immigration laws.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: They’re going to look at an individual and then say, “No,” right?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I’m not going to pre-judge how they look at individuals. I will say that people may have found themselves in Ashraf on a variety of circumstances.

QUESTION: Unwillingly, perhaps?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I don’t want to characterize it that way or any way, but just say what I said.

QUESTION: Okay. Now the UNHCR – I understand when they do their interviews, they have to be private. So they won’t have like a MEK superior watching over them and hearing what they say. But this determination of which ones want to return to Iran – is that done somehow through a private interview process? Because then otherwise you might get the groupthink and the “don’t say you want to go back to Iran” and the numbers would be far smaller than you’d expect maybe.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Without getting into the details of how individuals will be processed by international organizations, it’s not the U.S. doing it on the ground, I should point out. I would say that the UN and other international organizations are very well aware of the potential problem of, as you said, groupthink or group pressure, and they’re very well aware of the many reports about the atmosphere at Camp Ashraf and the character of that place. And I really shouldn’t say any more than that, but —

QUESTION: So they would be doing it, and – UN and international organizations would handle all of the —
AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, it’s —

QUESTION: Even the part related to the Iran question, not —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: It’s not the United States doing it.

QUESTION: No, I understand, but —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Everyone is aware of the problem you identified. I should say also that the MOU does contain an Iraqi commitment not to forcibly repatriate anyone to Iran.

QUESTION: Dan, have you seen these latest statements from the MEK in Paris? There was one this morning that says that they have information that the IRGC is going to launch some new rocket attacks tonight. Whether you’ve seen it or not, the other thing they say is that they’re asking for U.S. and UN monitors at the – at Camp Ashraf until it’s been emptied. Is that something from – at least from the U.S. side, is that something that you guys would be willing to consider, sending people to observe?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: The UN has said that it will monitor the former Camp Liberty. Not Ashraf; that’s not your question. But they’ll be at Camp Liberty on a 24/7 basis. The United States is prepared to mount a very robust monitoring – or I should say observation – a robust observation operation at the former Camp Liberty. It’s not practical, for a number of logistic and security arrangements, for us to be out with anything like that intensity at Camp Ashraf, which is one of the reasons people need to think seriously about moving fast.

QUESTION: Why? Why is it not practical?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, it’s a lot farther away, for one thing.

QUESTION: Right.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: And the move – it is harder to move people back and forth. I don’t want to say much more because that involves the logistics of these kinds of things, but we’re going to be at Camp Liberty a lot – at former Camp Liberty a lot more than we are at Ashraf.

QUESTION: Wait, who – I mean, so in other words, you’re not – that’s not in the cards, this latest request for —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: That’s not in the cards. That’s not – that’s right. That’s not in the cards.

QUESTION: And who runs Liberty now? Is it the Iraqi army or —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: It’s an Iraqi – that’s right. We turned over Camp Liberty to the Iraqi military. They’re there. There have been some – a lot of discussions about the security arrangements in future Camp Liberty, and Ambassador Kobler has had these in some detail with his – with his Iraqi counterparts. It will be an Iraqi facility. It’s not going to be a kind of independent, self-governed, autonomous, extraterritorial facility, which is what Camp Ashraf has been for many years.

And the – Ambassador Kobler has had extensive and detailed discussions with both the people at Camp Ashraf – well, the leaders at Camp Ashraf and with – and in Paris. So the MEK knows very well what he is – what the circumstances will be and what the arrangements are.

QUESTION: Are these two Americans who remain?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: We know of two American citizens that are still at Camp Ashraf.

QUESTION: Are they high-level or more of the —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I – because of – because they are American citizens, Privacy Policy and Act means I can’t talk more about it.

QUESTION: Okay. If they were to return, would they face possible prosecution?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I can’t talk about any of that. Now there are some at Camp Ashraf – some of the leaders say there are more American citizens there, that there are more permanent residents. We know of just two that remain.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: Have others come here?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Yes. Recently, two have come here from – American citizens have come here from Camp Ashraf. And the – I think I can say that the Iraqi Government facilitated that, and it was – when they finally left, it was very smooth.

QUESTION: Are these Iranian-Americans or Americans of Iranian descent?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I believe they are, but I’m not sure.

QUESTION: As far as you know, there isn’t anyone who’s a non-Iranian in Camp Ashraf, are – I’m just curious. You said there are – some people might have gotten there by very – in different ways.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Different means, that’s right.

QUESTION: Can you —

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I just don’t know. I don’t think so. I have not heard reports. But I’m not trying to prove a negative. I don’t think so, but I don’t know.

QUESTION: And when you talk about it, can you just say, I mean, just for example, what kind of means would one have gotten there other than voluntarily going in?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Sorry?

QUESTION: Well, I mean, like the North Koreans, are they running around kidnapping people and bringing them to Camp Ashraf? How do you get there involuntarily? How would one get there?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: There – well, let me refer you to some of the outside studies that have been written – the Rand Corporation report, for one. Take a look at that, or Human Rights Watch. They’ve described what they think are some of the problems. The MEK denies it. Right now, our concern is humanitarian and getting the people out of Ashraf over to Liberty, and then we’ll deal with the next set of really tough problems, which is repatriation/resettlement of these folks.

QUESTION: Some of those other reports that you mentioned have also discussed potential threats to the residents of Camp Ashraf may be internal rather than external. Without going into what your assessment is of where the threats are, is it the U.S. Government sort of understanding or feeling now that the immediate threats that they may have been facing to life and limb in the camp have decreased significantly? Are they not as at-risk as they were prior to this MOU being signed?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Well, certainly the developments of the – the good developments of the past several days – that is, the signing of the MOU and the MEK’s expressed willingness to work with Ambassador Kobler on the basis of the MOU and move 400 people out – have the effect of lowering the temperature and putting us on an implementation track rather than a negotiation and imminent disaster track.

Now that’s better, right? That’s a better place to be, but implementation is not easy. It’s fraught with the problems we can imagine and probably some we can’t. So no one who’s working on this issue is putting their feet up and saying, well, job is now done, we can just – it’s just on autopilot. Far from it. It will take a lot of work, a lot of work.

QUESTION: Thanks.

QUESTION: Thank you.

—

Ambassador Daniel Fried on MEK Mujahedin e Khalq Special Briefing
Ambassador Daniel Fried, Special Advisor for Camp Ashraf
Washington, DC, December 29, 2011

Link to RAND report
Link to HRW report

FBI recently disclosed report reveals Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) continued terror campaign years after they claim to renounce terrorism

March 1, 2021 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Family of “Hadi Sani Khani” seek help from international organizations

Father of Hadi Sani khani, who defected from the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) in Albania, sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and other international and European bodies, as well as Albanian government officials, expressing growing concern over his son’s enforced disappearance in Albania. He and his wife requested that this issue be dealt with.

Hadi Sani-Khani and Guterres

The text of the letter is as follows:

His Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Greetings and best regards,
I am the father of Hadi Sani Khani living in Tehran, Iran. My son, who was born in 1980, left for Turkey in 2003 with a friend to work. He wanted to go to Europe to find a better job and income and start a new life. He was not political and did not have the slightest acquaintance with the MEK. In Turkey, like some other young people, he was tricked into Iraq and the headquarters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

After we did not hear from him for some time, we learned that he was in Camp Ashraf in Iraq. I went to Iraq with Hadi’s mother and we approached the headquarters of the MEK. There we were able to meet Hadi in a very limited way.

In any case, four MEK officials were with us and did not leave us alone under any circumstances. They chased us out of the garrison and then disrespectfully warned us never to visit our son again. This was our last meeting with Hadi.

After that, we did not hear from Hadi and he did not contact us. Until 2016, when he was one of the last people to be transferred from Iraq to Albania, and he immediately left the organization and contacted us. During these four years, he never lost contact with us. He cited the main reason for his separation as not being allowed to communicate with his family within the organization. He said he would never accept a lack of contact with his family under any circumstances.

During all his contacts during this period, he constantly spoke against the MEK and recounted numerous examples of their betrayals and crimes. He praised people such as Ehsan Bidi, Hassan Heirani, Gholamreza Shekari, and others who helped him. He said that they were just like his brothers and they always supported him.
He received his refugee pension through the MEK for a short time, until, according to him, he was offered espionage and cooperation, and when he refused to do so, his pension was cut off by the MEK and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees refused to pay the amount. Therefore he faced serious financial problems.

At a time when one Euro was equivalent to 40,000 Iranian Rials, I sent him money several times same as other families, which he said that he helped others with this money. Unfortunately, during the last two years, due to the severity of sanctions and new economic conditions in Iran, and the excessive rise in the exchange rate and restrictions on the transfer of money, I could not send him money. He was in dire financial straits. At his last call about a month ago, he seemed very worried and anxious.

Hadi said that he works in a cafe as a waiter 14 hours a day, all days of the week, so that he can earn a living. He wanted to return to Iran from the beginning, but apparently the Albanian government did not agree to the MEK’s request. After four years in Albania, he still did not have an identity card or a work permit. He also said that the former members were constantly threatened and harassed by elements affiliated with the MEK.

While we were very worried about why Hadi had not called us for a long time and why even his phone did not answer, we were informed that the MEK published a letter attributed to him, the content of which was completely contrary to what he had said to us for four years. This doubled our concern because he had been repeatedly threatened by elements of the organization.

My wife, who is seriously ill, and I ask you to act immediately to find out about my forced disappearance son in Albania. The Albanian government must be held accountable. I am impatiently waiting for an answer from you to ask the Albanian government where Hadi Sani Khani is now and how his condition is.

Thanks a lot

Ahmad Sani Khani on behalf of the family of “Hadi Sani Khani”

February 28, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

The MEK must explain about the whereabouts of Hadi Sanikhani

The recently published letter on the MEK websites, allegedly signed by Hadi Sanikhani, has raised concerns over the fate of this former member of the group. The letter was published by the so-called Security and Counterterrorism Committee of the National Council of Resistance which is the political vitrine of the Cult of Rajavi (aka Mujahedin Khalq, MEK, MKO, PMOI).

Hadi Sanikhani

The content of the letter is against all former members of the MEK in Albania. The allegations that are claimed to be written by Hadi Sanikhani once more accuse defectors of the group as being agents of the Islamic Republic. This is not a new accusation about every person who leaves the MEK and reveals facts about the notorious life of inside the MEK.

Nevertheless, the most crucial issue that is raised up following the publication of the so-called letter is the proper person, Hadi Sanikhani. Right now, there is no information of his whereabouts. According to a letter to the UN, published by Dr. Olsi Jazexhi, the Abanian Historain and journalist, Hadi Sani- has been smuggled into France under the mujahedin command because he is officially a refugee in Albania and is not allowed to leave the Albanian territory.

Some sources from inside the MEK say that Sanikhani has probably been kidnapped by the group, smuggled to Paris and kept in one of the MEK’s safe houses, without any access to the outside world. Regarding that Sanikhani has not contacted his family in Iran for the past three weeks, the case seems to be critical. He used to call his family regularly since he had left the group a few years ago.

His family are highly concerned about him. In his last phone call, three weeks ago, he has been looking very down and in a terrible mood. He also asked his family for help without elaborating on any details.

Most former members of the MEK have experienced harassment and aggressive pressure from the MEK commanders after their defection from the group. They have sometimes been beaten repeatedly and violently or insulted and being abused publically. In different occasions their private residential have been attacked or even they have been taken as hostage. Jamshid Tafreshi is an example. He was a MEK defector who left the group years ago, but the group kidnapped him and even published a book under his name. Fortunately, he could finally mange to leave the group.

Nejat bloggers

February 23, 2021 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Prevent humanitarian catastrophe in the MEK Manëz Camp

Mr. Esmail Taherkhani, the brother of Issa Taherkhani, who was detained in the MEK camp in Albania, wrote a letter to the World Health Organization requesting immediate action on his brother’s health.

Issa Taherkhani brother

The text of the letter is as follows:

Representative of the World Health Organization in Albania
Greetings and best regards

I am Esmail Taherkhani, the brother of Issa Taherkhani, who is apparently at this time in the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) camp in Albania.

My brother was captured by Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq war and was deceitfully transferred to the MEK camp in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule. I have not heard from my brother since then and the family has not been allowed to contact him.

Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease and its epidemic all over the world, especially in Albania, according to the latest media reports, several dozen members of this group have died of the Covid-19 virus in recent weeks. They were buried in the local Manëz (Manzë) cemetery in Durrës, Albania.

The MEK, which operates a camp on the outskirts of Tirana, does not allow journalists and doctors to enter the area and works with patients with coronavirus disease and deaths outside the protocols of the World Health Organization and the Albanian government.

This has raised our concerns about the health of a large number of members, most of whom are elderly and over 60 years old. We have to wait for a humanitarian catastrophe in the Manëz area of Tirana and endanger the health of hundreds of thousands of people in this area and its neighboring areas, because the camp where the MEK members are based is completely closed and people have group life and are not allowed to have communication with their families. Also, the Albanian government does not grant visas to Iranians at the request of the MEK leaders to travel to that country and follow the issue closely.

I desperately urge you not to neglect any action that is imagined in order to alleviate the worries of me and my expectant family, so that news of my brother will reach us and we will be able to communicate. Please do not hesitate to take any action and follow up in this regard.

Thanks a lot
Esmail Taherkhani
Qazvin – Iran

February 22, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

MEK not be allowed to smuggle people / weapons into Europe

The Honorable António Guterres,

United Nations Secretary-General
The United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Your Excellency, Mr. Guterres

On February 14, 2021 the ex-terrorist organization of the Iranian Mojahedeen (also known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, MEK, MKO, Rajavi Cult etc) published a letter on its website signed by Hadi Sani-Khani an Iranian mujahedeen who in the past days has been smuggled into France by the mojaheden command. The letter was distributed and published by a section of MEK in Albania known as the Security and Counterterrorism Committee (SCC), chaired by the infamous ex-terrorist commander Mehdi Ambrishamchi. The original letter dated on February 17, 2021 mentioned the name of Mr. Mehdi Ambrishamchi as the chairman of SCC. However on February 18, 2021 the name of Mehdi Ambrishamchi was removed from the mujahedeen website, probably after a pan-European investigation has been launched by a group of European journalists and security experts who want to discover how did MEK manage to smuggle from Albania into France an ex-terrorist and foreign fighter like Hadi Sani-Khani.

France has bad experience with smugglers from Albania. The Nice terror attack of July 14th, 2016 was made possible thanks to three Albanian citizens: Artan Henaj, Myslym Cenaj and Enkelejda Zace. They smuggled weapons and ammunition through the Albanian port of Durres to the Italian port of Bari and then through the Ventimiglie crossing border point into France. The Tunisian terrorist Mohamed Bouhlei used such weapons and ammunition in his terror attack in Nice.

Your Excellency,

We, Olsi Jazexhiu and Gjergji Thanasi investigate the illegal activities of MEK in Albania since many years. This organization which depicts itself as an exiled Iranian opposition group runs a paramilitary camp in the town of Manza in Durres, something illegal and criminal according to Albanian Penal Code. MEK makes illegal and terrorist calls for war and regime change against foreign countries which are members of the United Nations. They use our country as a base for their illegal and criminal activities which are condemned by your organization and the international law. The spread fake news and aim to terrorize the Western public opinion with fears in order to push Western governments into war with Iran. In the past years we have exposed MEK lies and fake news. Their claims for Iran’s alleged terror attacks in Albania have been exposed as fake news by us in a number of occasions:

Dy “terroristët” iranianë aprofesionalizëm ulëritës apo thjesht “False flag operation”

Hadi Sani Khani

According to data from Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) MEK hosts around 7000 ex-foreign fighters in our country. They are kept in isolation by their command in the camp of Manza. MEK’s soldiers live in isolation and are not allowed to have contact with the outside world including their families who want to meet them. They have no free access to the internet, television and people of the opposite sex. They are not allowed to fall in love, have sex, marry, have families or children. They are forced to live like radicalized soldiers, trained and waiting to wage a terrorist war against Iran. Their families have written many letters to the Albanian government, the United Nations etc and have demanded access to their relatives who are kept in isolation and radicalized with the jihadi ideology of war and regime change that their cult leaders indoctrinate them.

However, the mujahedeen command headed by Maryam Rajavi, Mehdi Ambrishamchi etc have so far been successful to stop their families and human rights organizations to have access to the camp and liberate many Iranian citizens who are kept in isolation from the outside world since more than two decades.

The Albanian government has also not helped to solve the crisis that exists within the MEK camp. The Mojahedeen who were brought to Albania via UNHCR as protected refugees are now being persecuted by their jihadi command which keeps them in isolation and refuses them basic human rights like the right to marry, have a job, free movement, freedom of belief, thought etc. The Mojahedeen camp of Manza resembles China’s Uyghurs Concentration camps of Xinjiang.

The Albanian government which has responsibility to defend the rights of mojaheden refugees has so far abandoned them at the hand of MEK command. There are hundreds of MEK soldiers who want to live in freedom and abandon the Mojaheden Cult but are denied the freedom to do so. If they manage to run away from the camp they face prison, death or starvation. The Albanian government does not give them work permits, travel documents and they face slow death by poverty. Inside the camp many MEK members are suffering infections from Covid-19 and many are dying since the Mojaheden command has not vaccinated and given proper social distancing measures to its jihadi soldiers. MEK members who have managed to liberate themselves from the cult live in poverty in the outskirts of Tirana, the capital of Albania.

This was the case of Mr. Hadi Sani Khani who was working 14 hours per day as a waiter in order to survive outside MEK camp.

However the MEK command which attacks and intimidates the defectors has condemned and blackmailed Hadi in the past accusing him as being an agent of Iran.

Iranian Regime Uses Mois Agents Posing as Journalists in Attempts to Discredit Opposition

In Tirana the capital of Albania a large group of MEK defectors exist. These people have managed to escape the nightmare of the Mojaheden camp and decided to continue a civilian life. However they are viciously attacked by the Mojaheden command who accuses them as agents of Iran, terrorists etc. Through corruption, bribes and pressure MEK has managed to use Albanian state structures to intimidate and even jail many mojahedens who have abandoned jihad and do not want to take part in foreign wars for the sake of Maryam Rajavi and the Mojaheden command. People like Ehsan Bidi have been jailed and even forced by the Albanian police to smuggle himself into Greece. MEK is doing all it can to destroy its democratic and anti-cult opposition in Albania. It uses economic pressure, threats, jails, bribes and slander to scare and terrorize any of its members who wants to break free and abandon the jihadi cult of Maryam Rajavi.

Many Albanian media and journalists who know their desperate situation have tried to help the defectors in their quest for freedom. Journalists like us have exposed to the local and international media the vicious war that Maryam Rajavi and Mujahedin-e Khalq command is waging against the deradicalized defectors. We have brought to Albanian TV stations many MEK defectors who protest the insults, attacks and blackmails that MEK command does against them. They ask from Maryam Rajavi, Mehdi Ambrishamchi and other MEK commanders to live them alone. They do not want to engage in jihad against foreign countries since this is considered a terrorist crime according to Albanian and international law:

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Tirana_Defectors_Jazexhi.mp4

https://dld.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Oranews-Defectors-Albania.mp4

https://dld.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Abcnews-Defectors-Albania.mp4

MEK has been very ruthless on attacking the media and journalists who expose MEK’s dirty war against its defectors. They have attacked journalists from Channel 4, BBC, Al-Jazeera, the Guardian and many Albanian media and journalists. Part of their latest attack with lies and slander is even the letter that Hadi Sani Khani signed on February 14, 2021. Hadi who was suffering from drug addiction, shortage of money and desperate situation – where he could not legally work in Albania agreed to betray his defecting friends and sign a letter full of lies dictated to him by the Mojahedeen command. He wrote this letter after MEK agreed to smuggle him into France. In this moment we have information that Hadi is hiding in Paris. MEK has organized a criminal trafficking operation and has sent him to France, probably via Greece using forged documents. We suspect that the smuggling operation was directed by the notorious ex-terrorist commander Mehdi Ambrishamchi who heads MEK’s “Security and Counterterrorism Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran”.

As journalists mentioned in the letter that MEK command directed to you we want to state that “we strongly reject all the lies and accusations that MEK command has issued against us. We challenge Maryam Rajavi, Mehdi Ambrishamchi and all the Mojaheden command to face us in the media and courts and prove their lies and not wage jihad of disinformation and terrorism against journalists.”

Your Excellency!

Through this letter we want to ensure you and all the listed individuals and organizations that we are not intimidated by the attacks, lies and terrorist blackmails of Mehdi Ambrishamchi and the Mojaheden command against us. We do not accept to sell our journalistic and humanitarian duty to defend the weak and expose ex-terrorist organizations like MEK who threaten people around the world.

We want appeal to you and your organization to do the best that you can to guarantee the safe movement and freedom of all Iranian mojahedeens in Albania, including those who renounce war and terrorism and do not want to break the international law and wage terrorist war against other countries. Your organization and other relevant agencies must ask the Albanian government:

To dismantle and deradicalize the Mojaheden organization in Albania. Based on UN charter and international laws Albania should close the paramilitary camp of MEK and force the international and Albanian law to be implemented within and without the camp.
Albania must give the right to work and travel to its Iranian refugees and must protect them from human rights abuse at the hand of the Mojaheden command.
MEK commanders who abuse with their soldiers and have committed war crimes in Iran, Iraq, Albania and the world should face justice.
MEK should release the prisoners of Iran – Iraq war which it keeps as slave soldiers in its camp since the time of Saddam Hussein.
MEK should not be allowed to attack democracy in Albania and infringe the right of journalists like us to do our job.
UNHCR and the Albanian government must support MEK defectors in Albania. They should have the right to free choice, abandoning of jihad and the Mojaheden camp, marrying, working, contacting their families and deradicalize themselves.
UN and international organizations must demand from the Albanian state to start a process of mass deradicalization of MEK and stop MEK from threatening the security of Albania and the European Union. MEK should not be allowed to smuggle people / weapons and conflict into Europe or other countries of the world.
The Mojaheden command and their leaders like Mehdi Ambrishamchi must be investigated for their involvement in the illegal smuggling of mojaheden ex-terrorist fighters into Europe. They must face justice for their smuggling operations in Europe.
MEK should not be allowed to terrorize the European public opinion with fake news and lies against Iran, and it should not be allowed to challenge, scare and terrorize European policy makers about their relations with other countries.

For all the above we appeal to your Excellency, UNHCR, UNHCHR, Interior Ministry of Albania and the General Director of State Police of Albania to do all you can to stop human rights abuses and intimidation that MEK command does against its members and journalists in Albania and the world.

We appeal to Albanian and French authorities to start an urgent investigation into the case of Hadi Sani Khani. They must investigate how was Hadi illegally smuggled outside of Albania. What was the role of Mehdi Ambrishamchi in his illegal cross border escape from Albania? What money was paid to Hadi to sign a fake letter against his friends and journalists like us and what promises did the Mojaheden command made to him for this letter? Did the Mojaheden command smuggle weapons into France together with Hadi Sani Khani? Is the Mojaheden command planning a false flag operation in France through Hadi Sani Khani in order to sabotage The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran Nuclear Deal)?

We also appeal to French authorities to take all the necessary measures to defend Hadi from further Mojaheden blackmail and misuse. Mr. Hadi Sani Khani is addicted to a controlled substance called Tramadol. Such an addiction makes him suitable to be used in false flag terror attacks. He can be used by the Mojaheden command to endanger the security of a NATO member country like France where we believe he is hiding at present. Based on the past record and present MEK condemnation of The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran Nuclear Deal) we fear that the Mojaheden command might use him or other mojahedens for staging false flag terrorist operations in Europe.

For these reasons we appeal to you and other institutions listed in this letter to do all that you can to stop the Mojaheden mafia from provoking a terrorist scandal in Europe.

Sincerely,

Olsi Jazexhi and Gjergji Thanasi

cc:

The Honorable Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

The Honorable Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior of France

The Honorable Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

The Honorable Bledar Çuçi, Minister of Interior of the Republic Albania

Ms. Julie Verhaar, Acting General Secretary General of the Amnesty International;

Ms. Alice Mogwe, International Federation of Human Rights;

Mr. Ardi Veliu, the General Director of State Police;

The Honorable Milan Zver, MEP and Co-Chair of the Friends of Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament;

The Honorable Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs

Mr. Mehdi Ambrishamchi, Chairman, Security and Counterterrorism Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

olsijazexhi.wordpress.com

February 20, 2021 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Letter from the CEO of Nejat Society to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs

Ebrahim Khodabandeh, CEO of Nejat Society, Iran, wrote a letter to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, calling on her to raise with the Albanian authorities the issue of abuse of the most basic human rights of members and former members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) in Albania.

The text of the letter is as follows:
Ms Ylva Johansson
European Commissioner for Home Affairs
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
cab-johansson-contact@ec.europa.eu
Friday 19 February 2021

Greetings and kind regards,
I was informed that you are going to Albania today for a two-day visit and that you are meeting with high-ranking Albanian officials about the country’s entry into the European Union. Visiting the Greek border with Albania is also included in your schedule.

On behalf of the suffering families of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) in Albania, I would like to inform you that this organization, which is run as a destructive mind control cult led by Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, was transferred to Albania in 2016 and the members are held in a remote and isolated camp in Manzë, in Durrës county, western Albania.

Members of the Rajavi cult do not have the right to communicate with their families due to the cultic internal relations, and some of their elderly mothers and fathers have been kept unaware of the situation of their loved ones in the MEK for decades. Not only have they not been allowed any meetings and have not heard their children’s voices, but they have not even received any message from them.

Last year, a petition to the Albanian government was organized by these families at Change.org – which was signed in a matter of weeks by more than 11,250 relatives, friends and acquaintances of the residents in the MEK camp in Albania – calling for the possibility of getting in touch with them and learning about their health and welfare.

Urging Albanian government to let the families to contact their loved ones in MEK camp

Hundreds of separate letters have been sent by families to various Albanian government officials, including Prime Minister Edi Rama, but no response has been received. At the request of the MEK leaders, the Albanian government does not grant visas to Iranian nationals to visit the country, so they cannot pursue their demands on the spot through the judiciary there.

Some MEK members have now left the cult but are under severe financial pressure because they are not supported by the Albanian government or the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and do not have identity documents, work permits or refugee status. The Rajavi Cult’s goal, in cooperation with the Albanian government, is to force them to follow the MEK’s demands. The leaders of the organization also threatened to kill these individuals and the Albanian citizens and journalists who helped them, and have waged psychological warfare against them, and in some cases created legal problems for them.

With the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, families have become increasingly concerned about their children’s welfare. Dozens of members of the organization have reportedly died from the disease in recent weeks. Communal living and the lack of access by health officials to the camp have created dangerous conditions for the members.

Albanian public opinion, especially among the residents of Manzë and Durrës, is very concerned about the presence of a terrorist organization in their territory; a group which has been expelled from Iraq for activities that contravened national security there, and which now has an open hand to operate in their country. Many media outlets and human rights activists in Albania have warned of the presence of this terrorist cult, which violates even the most basic rights of its own members.

During this period, suspicious killings took place inside the MEK camp, including the death of Malek Shara’i, but unfortunately the local police were kept from pursuing their investigations. There is also information that the MEK is involved in organized crime in Albania, including money laundering and human trafficking, as well as weapons and drugs smuggling.

Two years ago, Mostafa Mohammadi and his wife, Canadian citizens, went to Tirana to visit their daughter, Somayeh Mohammadi, who is in the MEK camp. They were beaten by elements of the Rajavi cult, and unfortunately not only were their complaints not dealt with, but they were expelled from the country and could not return and pursue the matter through the judiciary.

When visiting the Greek border with Albania, please keep in mind that Ehsan Bidi, a former member of the MEK, was taken to the Greek border without any charges after a year of illegal detention for refusing to cooperate with the organization. He was rescued with the help of other former members, human rights activists and lawyers. He is being held in illegal detention again.

The cases of Ehsan Bidi and Mostafa Mohammadi and Malek Shara’i and dozens of other cases and the suspicious murders that were left uninvestigated show, above all, the corruption of the police, the judiciary and even the media, that Albania is now a safe haven for criminals. And now terrorists have arrived on European soil.

I urge you, as a European Union official, to ask the Albanian government and authorities in your meetings what their response is to the families of the members of the MEK in Albania. Why should the MEK be able to cut off its members from the outside world, especially their families? Why do they not have the right to leave the camp, the right to marry and start a family, and the right to a personal and individual life?

I am eagerly awaiting your response.
Ebrahim Khodabandeh
Nejat Society CEO
Tehran, Iran

February 20, 2021 0 comments

European Union

Please raise the issue of the MEK presence in Albania with them

On Saturday, 20 February, you are scheduled to meet the President of the Republic of Albania, Ilir Meta; Prime Minister, Edi Rama; Minister of Interior, Bledi Cuçi; and the leader of the opposition, Luzlim Basha.

Please raise the issue of the Mojahedin- Khalq (MEK) presence in Albania with them.

In 2016, 2,901 individual MEK members were transferred to Albania from Iraq by the UNHCR. Although classified as “refugees”, they were not granted legal documentation in Albania – they do not have ID cards, work permits, travel permits, etc. This has left them dependent on the MEK leader Maryam Rajavi for their subsistence. In Albania, as in Iraq, they are held in a closed camp in conditions of modern slavery. The systematic application of coercive control means they are not able to make independent, informed decisions about their health and welfare or their economic and social activity. Even if they were, the barriers to escaping the MEK are great.
When the MEK’s irresponsible response to the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the lives of the members, their families appealed to the UN Commission on Enforced Disappearances to make contact with individual members so they could ascertain the health and welfare of their loved ones. This has not yielded results. Families are still denied contact with the MEK camp residents by the leader Maryam Rajavi. Albania’s health officials are still denied access to the camp to check on conditions there.

The MEK presence in Albania has caused controversy. The MEK modus operandi means top level politicians of all parties, as well as media leaders and police and security have been co-opted into supporting the MEK’s anti-Iran agenda as policy. The politicisation of the MEK presence in Albania has come at a high cost to the individual members, to Albanian security, to the democratic and judicial processes of the country, and to foreign policy decisions which have resulted in Albania unnecessarily becoming the front line of the conflict between the EU and Iran.

Local residents near the MEK camp have protested several times about the impunity and preferential treatment of the camp against their own interests. Electricity and water suppliers prioritise the MEK camp leaving them with intermittent supplies, human sewage from the camp has been pumped onto agricultural land, and land earmarked for the expansion of the local cemetery has been appropriated so that MEK dead are buried in preference to the residents’ relatives. The situation in untenable whereby the natural rights and interests of local Albanian citizens are subordinated to the activities and demands of a foreign political cult.

Political leaders in Albania must be held to account for this anomaly. They must answer for MEK impunity and MEK interference in the running of the country.

When you go to the Kakavia border crossing with Greece, where you will visit the Frontex-Albania joint border control operation, please be aware of the attempted illegal deportation of an Iranian refugee across that border last year at the behest of the MEK leader Maryam Rajavi.

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Report/Bidi_Ehsan_Greece_Border.mp4

Ehsan Bidi, who came to Albania as a refugee (not with the MEK) and has been granted the right to residency, is currently being held in detention. Ehsan Bidi is – among many other former MEK members – an outspoken critic of Maryam Rajavi. In response, she demanded his deportation. Bidi was held in detention without charge or recourse to legal representation for a year. After which the national police tried illegally dumping him at the Greek border. After the intervention of friends and lawyers, Bidi was brought back to Tirana. Only for him to be detained again ‘pending deportation’. Since there is no possibility of this ever happening, the treatment of Bidi (who, as I remind you has been granted the right to residency), can only be classed as cruel and unusual treatment under the articles of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The only possible reason for this treatment is to suit the demand of Maryam Rajavi to eliminate critics.

Political leaders in Albania should explain why and how this foreign political cult has gained such influence over Albania’s political, judicial, security and media bodies that it threatens the national interests of that country and its people. Maryam Rajavi has been expelled from France and is not able to visit any EU country. The reasons for this are based on security and political considerations. It is inconceivable that with the MEK established in Albania and infecting every element of government, the EU will accept Albania’s accession to the EU of which you are a representative.

In 2013, when Joe Biden was Vice President in the Obama administration, a deal was struck by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to de-radicalise the MEK once they arrived in Albania. Under the Trump administration this plan was shelved, allowing the MEK to regroup and continue its nefarious practices. It may be possible that your report could contain the recommendation that this programme be resumed. This would relieve Albania of the onus to act unilaterally against the MEK. It would allow Albania’s accession to move forward. It would alleviate relations between the US, EU and Iran. More than anything it would restore basic human rights to the MEK members trapped in this cult with no hope and no future.

Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton)

February 20, 2021 0 comments

European Union

Iranian diplomat was set up using a demented woman and her small cult

The European Union is a peculiar construct. The idea behind its establishment was to — by jam-packing different political and economic units into one giant entity — create a powerhouse that is politically and economically uniform and competitive. But the result has been an unwieldy structure that struggles to impose unity on its components on matters of internal and external policy and that is submissive to traditional power players, including those inside the Union itself.

Germany and France, among the world’s top 10 economies, seem to lay an outsized claim to authority as political and economic decision-makers in the EU, even though the bloc has appointed senior representatives for policymaking. All the while, poorer, outlying members differ on policy and budget assignment.

That disequilibrium has been on display in the EU’s approach toward Iran, too. While the Union’s high representative for foreign policy seems to be in favor of sound diplomacy with Iran, individual member states, mostly the more powerful ones, have been singing their own tune.

The latest instance is the case of an Iranian diplomat who has been accused of involvement in an alleged bomb plot in Europe. Diplomat Assadollah Assadi, posted originally to EU member Austria, was arrested in EU member Germany in 2018 and was moved to EU member Belgium, where authorities claimed they had intercepted him communicating with alleged suspects planning to bomb a gathering of anti-Iran cultists in France, also an EU member.

Those countries are using their membership in the Union to easily have Mr. Assadi arrested in one member state and move and try him in another, but are conveniently refusing to acknowledge his diplomatic immunity on the grounds that it applies only to one member state, namely Austria. Essentially, they are being EU members when prosecuting Mr. Assadi but unconnected individual units when it comes to acknowledging his immunity.

That duplicitous behavior is confounded when juxtaposed with the position of the Union’s top representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, who has said he seeks “maximum diplomacy” with Iran.

I asked Belgian Ambassador to Tehran Véronique Petit to comment on the apparent confliction of positions for this article. She declined via the Belgian Embassy on the grounds that it is a “judicial case,” even though the matter is political and she represents all branches of the Kingdom of Belgium in Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the unlawful jail term issued in Belgium against an Iranian diplomat is a clear violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

It is worth noting that the accusation against Mr. Assadi is that he was involved in a bomb plot against an anti-Iran group known as the MKO, or more commonly the MEK, a small cult of deranged individuals who have spent most of their lives confined to camps wishing to topple the Iranian government. Their leader, a demented woman who teaches celibacy and armed opposition to Iran, views herself as Iran’s president-in-waiting. The Israeli regime is known to have tapped healthier MKO members to conduct terror attacks inside Iran.

Of course Iran has rejected the accusation against Mr. Assadi and demanded his swift release. (The international convention protecting his diplomatic immunity is, ironically, named after the capital of the European country where he was posted to.) His prosecution comes at a time when there are hopes the parties to the Iran deal could move to revive the agreement in light of the change of administration in the United States. When Mr. Borrell advocated “maxim diplomacy” with Iran, he said it should replace the former Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the country.

That is a long way from happening. But Mr. Borrell has seemed eager to work to that end. He has already traveled to Russia and China, the two parties to the deal that are not Western-aligned. Crucially though, the simple question is: who is he speaking for when he speaks of “maximum diplomacy” with Iran while Union members are holding an Iranian diplomat?

The Union may justify by saying it cannot impose policy on individual members, which would take us back to the inherent absurdity at the heart of the EU. If Union members can do something that is contrary to stated Union policy, how can they exist as a union?! The EU can either want to pursue “maximum diplomacy” with Iran or hold an Iranian diplomat hostage. It cannot do both at the same time.

By Hossein Jelveh

(Hossein Jelveh is an independent Iranian journalist based in Tehran. He has graduated with a master’s degree from the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran. You can follow him on Twitter @hossein_jelveh.)

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

February 20, 2021 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

How can the MEK grow so many agents for the Islamic Republic?

In the language of espionage, agent is a person who is unofficially employed by an intelligence service, often as a source of information. However, in the language of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi), agent is a person who defects the group, criticizes the group and gives testimony against it.

Since the MEK’s relocation in Albania the number of defectors from the group has been on the rise and eventually the number of people who have been accused by the MEK of being the agents of the Iranian government have been on the rise too.

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.

A look at the group’s media in different languages, particularly their Persian and English websites provides us with a long list of individuals who are called by the MEK, or its political vitrine the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran), as”Tehran operatives”or”agents of Iranian regime”. How come that there are allegedly so many Iranian agents in Albanian territory?

The so-called list contains a range of people who have one thing in common: they all have been interviewed or quoted in the mainstream media, from Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton who left the group in the 1990s when it was located in Iraq to Hassan Heyrani and Gholam Mirzaiee who left the group after its relocation to Albania, , a few years ago. Normally, those who defected the MEK in Albania are more likely to be contacted by the Western main stream media compared with those who left the group in Iraq or those who returned to Iran after defection.

What do these people tell the media that once they leave the group? they turn from”The unique holy fighter”–what the MEK calls its members—to”Agents of the Mullahs”–what it calls its defectors?

Hasan Heyrani, MKO former member in Tirana

Hassan Heyrani was quoted by the Guardian in November 2018:
“According to one recent MEK defector, Hassan Heyrani, the group’s main work in Albania involves fighting online in an escalating information war between Iran and its rivals. Heyrani, who left the MEK last summer, says that he worked in a”troll farm”of 1,000 people inside the Albanian camp, posting pro-Rajavi and anti-Iran propaganda in English, Farsi and Arabic on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and newspaper comment sections.”

He was also quoted in the famous revealing article of the Intercept by Murteza Hussain on the MEK’s fake persona”Heshmat Alavi”:
“There’s a problem, though: Heshmat Alavi appears not to exist. Alavi’s persona is a propaganda operation run by the Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq, which is known by the initials MEK, two sources told The Intercept…”Heshmat Alavi is a persona run by a team of people from the political wing of the MEK,”Hassan Heyrani told the Intercept.”They write whatever they are directed by their commanders and use this name to place articles in the press. This is not and has never been a real person.”
The Intercept article adds:

“Heyrani said the fake persona has been managed by a team of MEK operatives in Albania, where the group has one of its bases, and is used to spread its message online. Heyrani’s account is echoed by Sara Zahiri, a Farsi-language researcher who focuses on the MEK. Zahiri, who has sources among Iranian government cybersecurity officials, said that Alavi is known inside Iran to be a”group account”run by a team of MEK members and that Alavi himself does not exist.”

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Report/Aljazeera_Alavi_MEK.mp4

to download the video file click here

Hassan Heyrani was interviewed by a lot of other journalists including Linda Pressly and Albana Kasapi of the BBC. In their radio report, titled”Albanian’s Iranian guests”, Kasapi and Pressly interview the citizens of Albania neighboring the MEK camp, the Albanian politicians and the defectors of the group. They were not allowed to interview the members inside the camp.

The MEK media called the report”BBC’s propaganda against the resistance”and called Hassan Heyrani and Gholam Mirzaiee, the two defectors interviewed in the report as”agents of the Mullahs’ embassy”.

Gholamreza Shekari is another former member of the MEK who, according to the group, turned into a”spy”as soon as he left the group. The MEK website claims that they are not real defectors but they just play the role of former members!”The MOIS is organizing its mercenaries through two defectors, Hassan Heyrani and Gholamreza Shekari, who are posing as ‘former members’ or ‘separated members’ of the MEK”, the so-called National Council of Resistance asserts.

Gholamreza Shekari; Tirana; Der Spiegel

Shekari was interviewed by Luisa Hommerich of Der Spiegel in February 2019.”Gholamreza Shekari, a slender 50-year-old man with bony cheeks, says he spent 27 years as a member of the People’s Mujahedin,”Hommerich writes.
How did Shekari spend 27 years of his youth days in the MEK just to defect the group in order to pose as former member and separated member?

“The organization’s public face is liberal”, Shekari told Hommerich.”Internally, though, it works by way of lies, manipulation and fear.”This statement seems to be the main reason that he is labeled as a Tehran operative.
What goes inside the MEK camp is the main idea of all testimonies made by former members. Indeed, the controversies between what former members say and what the MEK leaders show off are stimulating for all journalists to follow their curiosity in order to discover true facts.

The number of reports and articles based on testimonies of former members are increasingly going up and therefore the number of the alleged Iranian agents who work against the MEK are getting higher. Each former member of the group who officially declares its defection from the group is added to list of the agents.

The MEK leaders have to explain their leadership methods that are so ineffective that not only would make members leave the group but also make them agents of the enemy’s agenda!

By Mazda Parsi

February 18, 2021 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Everywhere prisoners are allowed family visit, why not in the MEK?

Ms. Zahra Shahbaz Mansouri, daughter of Reza Shahbaz Mansouri, based in the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) Camp in Albania, wrote a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Albania expressing concern about her father’s health and calling for an investigation.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Representative of the WHO in Albania

Greetings and best regards,

I am Zahra Shahbaz Mansouri, daughter of Reza Shahbaz Mansouri.
My father is currently in the MEK camp in Albania. He left Iran years ago to find a job and more income. We later found out that he was deceived by the elements of the MEK and transferred to Iraq.

In all these years, we have not met him or even heard his voice, and it is the ultimate wish of every child to be able to communicate with his father and be informed of his condition.

You know that even in the most dreadful prisons in the world, and in the case of the most dangerous prisoners, families are allowed to contact the prisoner. But we are also deprived of this minimum possibility of meeting.
Who can help us deprived families? To which international body should we take our grievances to support us? Does anyone in the world pay attention to our rights?

Most importantly, my father has the infection of Covid-19 virus at the MEK camp in Albania and he is in critical condition. The sanitary facilities inside the camp are not so good due to the closed group life and many deaths have been reported so far.

I desperately ask you not to neglect any action that can be taken to alleviate my family’s worries.please help us get news of my father conditions and be allowed to contact him.

Surely you know a child’s worries about his father when he is sick. Please understand how we must be feeling and do not hesitate to pursue this issue.

Thanks and best regards,
Zahra Shahbaz Mansouri
Mashhad, Iran

Copy to:
Office of the Prime Minister of Albania
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

February 17, 2021 0 comments

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