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Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Additional signatures of the families on the letter to Mai Sato

Last week a letter signed by some of the families of the members of the MEK camp in Albania, as far as they were available, was sent to Mai Sato, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. This included a total of 280 signatures from 10 provinces.
This week, 79 families from 4 other provinces managed to sign this letter, which brought the total number of signatures to 359, which was sent to Dr. Mai Sato in a supplementary letter. Many more families are signing this letter in different cities and provinces now.

The names of the families who signed the letter this week addressed to Mae Sato are:

September 8, 2024 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

MEK’s Generosity for UN Special Rapporteur

Javid Rehman, the former special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, has claimed that he did not receive money for his participation in the meeting of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). He, who has been severely criticized for participating in the meeting of the Cult of Rajavi and especially addressing Maryam Rajavi with the title “president-elect”, denied receiving any fee for attending the meeting or giving a speech.

After the reaction by the Iranian media to the presence of Javid Rehman in the meeting of the so-called National Council of Resistance, the MEK’s political vitrine, there has been a wave of reaction from Persian-language media, and Iranian analysts and journalists abroad.

In order to produce a report on the issue, BBC reporter Parham Qobadi interviewed Javid Rehman. Rehman denied that he received money from the MEK for participating in this ceremony. To justify the use of the word “president-elect” to address Maryam Rajavi, Javid Rehman said that he used the organizational title of the leader of the group. In response to BBC, he stated that the reason for attending this meeting was to interview the families of victims.

It is worth to know that Iran International TV Channel also tried to contact Javid Rehman to ask him to explain on this matter, but this time the former UN rapporteur did not accept to talk. He just said that his mission on Iran is over and speaking about it is pointless. This type of response is completely contrary to the statements he made in response to BBC.

The Iranian-American journalist Omid Memarian described Javid Rehman’s act as “reckless” in an interview with Iran International. He emphasized that UN rapporteurs, while contacting all people and political groups to gather information and complete their knowledge, should keep their distance from them. He considered the use of the title “President Elect” for Maryam Rajavi as “disrespectful” regarding the people of Iran, because according to the Memarian, Javid Rehman is definitely aware of the Iranian nation’s view on the MEK.

Reposting his colleague’s report on X social network, Bahman Kalbasi, a BBC Persian reporter, wrote: “Almost all those who give speeches for Rajavi and his group are paid thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. Javid Rehman answered my colleague’s questions. He claimed that he did not receive any money.”

Also, Sina Azodi, an expert on Iran’s foreign policy and a professor at Elliott College at George Washington University, wrote about the huge sums paid by the MEK to the speakers of their events:
“A retired CIA professor from my master’s degree told me that he was under federal investigation for receiving $15,000 from the Mujahedin organization for a speech. Of course, this story is from 2012.”

paying several tens of thousands of dollars as speaking fees by the MEK is not a new issue. Several reports have been published in Western newspapers and news agencies about the heavy sums that former officials like John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani have received for a few minutes of speech at the meetings of the MEK.

Hamid Bahrami, a journalist and independent analyst in international relations, says something new about the speaking fees the MEK pay their speakers:
“For some time now, the MEK have been paying their guests with digital currency for a secret purpose and at the request of the recipient. This is not an analysis; it is a news.”

And perhaps Yasir Mirdamadi, writer, translator, researcher of religion and philosophy, who holds a doctorate in Islamic studies from Edinburgh University, offers the best conclusion from the words of Javid Rahman at the MEK meeting. Mirdamadi writes on his X account:
“At the beginning of his speech, Javid Rehman said that he was grateful for the “generous” invitation of the “President-elect”. Now he says that he has not received any money, if so, then by “generous” he must have meant the bananas and coconuts that were served on his table.”

However, Iranians should be grateful to Javid Rehman for the service he did to himself and to human rights institutions, to make it known to the world that how much the MEK and its leaders Maryam and Massoud Rajavi are hated by the Iranians around the world. If hundreds of books, articles and audio and video contents were produced about the unpopularity of Maryam Rajavi among Iranians inside and outside the country, it would not have the very impact that Javid Rahman’s company in the MEK show had.

He now knows that his contradictory statements about the reason for his presence at MEK’s meeting are sensibly considered by the Iranian audience. Three weeks after the end of his mission about human rights in Iran and after the publication of his report, he participates in the gathering of the Cult of Rajavi. He explains the reason for his presence to BBC as “to interview the families of the victims”, but he tells Iran International about the ending of his mission on Iran. This clearly shows the “generous” influence of the formerly terrorist designated MEK with its dark history of violence, terrorism and extremism in its reports.

By Mazda Parsi

September 7, 2024 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Warning to British Citizens on the MEK’s Fraudulent charity

The agents of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) are once more running scam charities under the cover of raising funds for what they call “victims of Iranian regime”. This is part of the MEK’s network of fake charities based in European countries. “Inspired Charity” is the name of the MEK-run fake charity which is collecting donations in the streets of London and Manchester, these days.

According to a report by the Associated Press, over the years, the MEK has been targeted in a series of investigations around the world for running charity scams. MEK’s fake charity scams prey on people’s goodwill and generosity. They pretend to be representatives of a legitimate Iranian group but they are actually a terrorist cult loathed by the Iranians.
Ray Torabi, former child soldier of the MEK has published a film and some photos of the MEK’s alleged charity campaign in London in order to warn British citizens about the threat of the MEK fraud:

British people be aware!

Recently such stands have been popping up all over London and Manchester and perhaps other cities, where Iranians from a so-called “Inspired Charity” organization are collecting signatures and DONATIONS for victims of the Islamic regime in Iran and the promotion of human rights. HOWEVER, they are a fraud and actually members of an extremist Islamic cult called the Mujahedin-e Khalgh (MEK). They portray themselves as moderate but only do so to lure you into making a donation. They use the pictures and names of victims of the Islamic regime in Iran such as #mahsa_amini but in reality are hated by the families of these victims. The MEK is loathed by the Iranian people and are known to have committed a wide range of atrocities against their own people and even members. My father, who was a MEK member was tortured and killed by the cult. I myself, along with hundreds of other teens, was recruited as a child soldier by them in the late 90s. My mother and many other members of my family are currently trapped in the cult’s camp where they have been brainwashed and completely disconnected from the outside world and have cut all ties with me. As a teen, I took part in such charity schemes of the MEK in Canada and the US and I speak based on personal experience. I was a member of the cult for 18 years and managed to escape 7 years ago.

Please know and understand that your money will not only not go to victims of the Islamic regime in Iran and for fighting extremism, but it will actually fund an extremist Islamic cult bent on establishing their own fanatic idea of Islam in Iran and one that brainwashes and violated the most basic human rights of its own members on a daily basis.
In February 2017, Jon Gambrell of the Associated Press reported that an FBI probe found MEK members hustled travelers arriving to Los Angeles International Airport, asking them to donate after showing them binders of photographs of disaster or torture victims. The money instead went to banks in Belgium, France, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to “support MEK operations and activities, including terrorist activities,” a 2007 indictment against seven members said.
The report also revealed facts about an MEK scam charity in Britain, called “Aid Association”. According to that, in 2001, in Britain, authorities dissolved a charity associated with the MEK that had made an estimated 5 million pounds a year. Its investigation found some donors “were misled into believing they were personally sponsoring individual children when this was not in fact the case.”

The donated money finally went to the headquarters of the group where Maryam Rajavi is based. In the 2003 raids in France, police found $1.3 million, mostly in $100 bills, at MEK-affiliated properties, reported the Associated Press.

Ray Torabi posted a photo of the alleged donation form that is supposed to be signed by donators. According to the form, donators pay the so-called Inspired charity to save the lives of victims in Iran. Torabi asks the families of the alleged victims a crucial question:
“Have you ever received financial aid from the Mujahedin? If not, then don’t let them take advantage of your pain and suffering. This fraud of the MEK must be exposed and scandalized.”

Mazda Parsi

September 3, 2024 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Appeal of the legal representative of the MEK former members to Mai Sato

Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Dr. Mai Sato
United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Greetings and regards:

Before entering into the nature of my appeal, I would like to congratulate you on your new assignment as the special rapporteur on human rights in the affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and I wish you success.

I am the legal representative of hundreds of former members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) based in Iran. The current members of the MEK, led by Maryam and Masoud Rajavi, are now living in an isolated and remote camp called Ashraf 3 in the city of Manez in the province of Durres in the country of Albania.

firstly, I would like to review your serious responsibility in the matter of human rights. Special rapporteurs are responsible for the mission assigned to them by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which they carry out independently of governments and with respect for non-partisanship. In this way, they play an important role in monitoring the sovereignty of nations and policies and democratically elected governments. The role of special rapporteurs, beyond fact-finding missions, is to report on the complaints of those who are victims of human rights violations.

Unfortunately, Mr. Javaid Rehman, the former rapporteur of HR, by violating the protocols of the United Nations, acted based on the double standards policies, not as a representative of the United Nations, but as a special agent and spokesperson for Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the MEK. As, recently he attended the MEK terror group’s meeting.

Dr. Sato
I am the legal representative of former members of the MEK based in Iran. By using mind control methods, MEK has practically launched modern slavery and brainwashes people with cultic methods and subjects them to spiritual and physical abuses, as well as torture and finally kill them.

According to one of the important clauses related to the limits of the authority of special rapporteurs in order to implement the mission related to gathering evidence, the fact-finding committee, by following relevant standards and methodologies, tries to access and collect information, documents and evidence. It includes interviews, testimony of witnesses, documents and other information, and in order to collect information related to their investigation, this committee communicates with a variety of people and institutions.

Considering the fact that many former members of the MEK live in Iran and are located in the geographical region of your jurisdiction, I invite you as the legal and official representative of these people to meet with at least a number of former members to find out the truth about the anti-human actions of the MEK, conduct a face-to-face meeting and follow up on this issue by receiving their complaints.

I am impatiently waiting for your reply

With respect
Samad Eskandari
Legal representative of the former members of the MEK based in Iran

September 1, 2024 0 comments

Iran

Iran criticizes UK’s double standard on terrorism: Embassy

Referring to the double standard of the British authorities, the Iranian embassy in London clarified that terrorism is tolerable when it targets Iranians but it is condemned elsewhere.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London published a message on X, stating that the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, a group that has long been recognized as terrorists by the international community assassinated the President and Prime Minister of Iran on August 29, 1981.

This message pointed out that although the nature of this terrorist group has not been changed, their names were removed from the list of terrorist organizations to put pressure on Iran.

Some members of the British Parliament host the leader of this group every year, and some of the notorious right-wing newspapers in the UK provide them with a platform, the message added.

Referring to the double standard of the British authorities, the Iranian embassy in London clarified: that terrorism is tolerable when it targets Iranians, but it is condemned when it happens elsewhere.

September 1, 2024 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Letter from the families of members of the MEK to Mai Sato

A number of families of the trapped members in the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) camp in Albania jointly signed a letter addressed to Dr. Mai Sato, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, during which they drew her attention to the gross violation of the most basic human rights in the Manëz camp, and demanded immediate action.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Dr. Mai Sato
United Nations
Human Rights Special Procedures
Special reporter on the Islamic Republic of Iran

Greetings and respect
We have learned that you have been appointed to the position of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and have officially started your task on August 1, 2024. First of all, we would like to congratulate you on your appointment to the new post and wish you success in the sensitive and delicate mission ahead of you.
We are the families of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO). Our loved ones are currently living in a closed and remote camp of the MEK in Albania without any contact with the outside world, especially with family, friends and acquaintances.

During these years, the MEK has maintained and controlled its forces through deception and mind control, and has deprived them of marriage, family formation, and contact with the free world.

Through the media of the MEK, we learned that this organization had meetings with you and established communication with you. This organization, which acclaims the violation of human rights in Iran, has a heavy case of violating the most basic human rights of its own members and their families.

The “European Convention on Human Rights” refers to provisions of human rights that are completely violated in the MEK camp in Albania, according to the testimony of a large number of members who managed to escape. These survivors are ready to testify about this wherever necessary.

According to the relevant convention, these items include:

European Convention on Human Rights

The MEK, led by Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, is a terrorist cult that has committed many crimes inside Iran. This organization also entered the war against its own country in collaboration with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war and then suppressed the uprising of the Iraqi people as Saddam Hussein’s private army. Currently, this organization is highly hated among Iranian people and even among other opponents of the Islamic Republic.

We, the undersigned, request you to question the MEK regarding the violation of human rights inside the closed and remote camp of this organization near the city of Manëz in Durrës province in Albania and ask this organization to open the doors of its camp for journalists and independent international officials to visit and provide the possibility of communication between families and people inside the camp.
We are waiting for your kind response and action

Thanks and regards
The families of members trapped inside the MEK camp in Albania

The list of names of the families, who signed this letter, to the extent that it was possible to access and sign the letter in a short notice, is attached. More names and signatures will be sent later.

August 31, 2024 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

When an MEK child is left with a rapist foster father

Atefeh Sebdani speaks of her feelings of insecurity because of being repeatedly raped as a child

Rejection, criticisms, unkind words lead children to feel or think less of themselves. Children can too be prone to instances where they lose self-esteem and become insecure. Therefore, parents should always be there for their children, to uplift them and to make them feel more wanted, more loved. In 1991, about one thousand children of members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) were separated from their parents, trafficked to Western countries, left with foster families who were MEK sympathizers.

These children have endured traumatic experiences which left them with deep feelings of insecurity. Atefeh Sebdani, now in her thirties, mother of three children, is one of the children of Mujahed parents who was repeatedly raped by her foster father in Sweden. The MEK had handed her and her two brothers to that foster family because they were sympathizers of the group.
The experience of child sexual abuse can change the way children and young people understand their world, the people in it and where they belong. Their understanding of themselves and the world can become distorted, and create mistrust, fear, and betrayal. Depending on the relationship and duration of the sexual harm, subsequent relational trauma could affect their ability to connect with others and themselves. However, Atefeh is a successful Swedish citizen now who has almost healed from the trauma but she still has hard times with her memoirs.

She has published her biography, she has been the subject of many interviews, lectures and documentaries as an example of hundreds of orphaned children of the MEK cult. Yet, there are some moments in her life that profoundly recalls the traumatic moments of her childhood. As she shares in her Facebook account, Atefeh’s younger daughter Saba has recently been hospitalized for a surgery. Caring for her little daughter, Atefeh remembers her own heart-breaking experiences of hospital and doctor as an abandoned, sexually assaulted child. She acknowledges the shortages of her childhood. That there was no mother there for her to show her how to be caring for her children:

“It is with the children that I am allowed to confirm my experiences.
It is through them that I know that a child who has been sedated for surgery and will wake up in a hospital should not do it alone.
It is through my friends that I am told that a child who wakes up from anesthesia can scream and be angry. That it is completely normal.
It’s only now that I understand that I was completely normal when I screamed (and probably kicked and fought) in my wake in the hospital as a child. To the extent that the nurses had to put up the railing on the bunk.
It was their voices I heard when I was groggy. Their hands that held me and comforted me at the same time.”
As her mother was far from her in the MEK’s military camp in Iraqi deserts, isolated and brainwashed by the group’s cult-like ideology, Atefeh Sebdani cried calling her, now she knows that she should be here by the side of her little Saba:
“It is only now that I understand that it was not normal that no parent was there when I lay there abandoned and exposed.
As I was ashamed when the nurses later told my foster mother how I had been. I who always screamed in my sleep from my nightmares had now done it in front of everyone.
Rampant.
And then they told me that I had screamed for my mother…
Mother.
Which mother?
It didn’t tell the story to the unsuspecting nurses who heard my cries echo across the hall.
Saba, on the other hand, you don’t have to shout. I’m lying here next to you.”
The feelings of insecurity and the evil memories of rape once more get back to Atefeh with the notion of “doctor”, a person who is supposed to be secure and trustable, but in the mind of little Atefeh, the doctor’s appointment is a traumatic return to the moments of sexual assaults.

She asks the Swedish health care and medical guild about the feelings of insecurity she gets as an adult whose parents had left her behind to fight for the MEK and the MEK had eventually left her in the hands of a rapist family. That is why she is not afraid of the surgery knife, but she panics the look and the hands of the doctor:

“If the doctor is of a character that reminds you of the person who raped you, abused you, ruined your life, then you just have to swallow it.
I have never been afraid of injections. Nor for the knives that cut into my body.
But I’m afraid of the man who will grope my naked, exposed body with his rough hands. Be in his grasp. Again. Under his power. Again. Feel his gaze on my nakedness. Again.
Feeling powerless. Again.
Feel how I stop breathing. Again.
Feel how I shake uncontrollably. Again.
– I’m not afraid of the knife! i want to scream
It’s you I’m afraid of!

Because if it were so good, that I even had a chance to think about the knife.

Instead, I see looks and feel hands from a man who groped me so many times long before I knew I could stop even though I always knew it was wrong. Long before my body took shape and it was still a desire for the man. Male with black hair, crooked nose and freckles. Which is everywhere around us, not least among our doctors. But I was called and I showed up.
For who am I to say that my body trembles from the trauma of his hands and eyes and not from the knife he puts into me?

Where is the care’s responsibility to take care of even us who tremble with other worries and who had wished, please, give me another to touch my body!”
As a victim of sexual violence, you could be feeling furious, desperate, revengeful, hopeless, and empty, all at the same time. This is a perfectly normal response to such a traumatizing event. Atefeh has survived and recovered from sexual violence. She has struggled with all the different thoughts and emotions that she once had a hard time to cope with. But this does not validate the crimes of the Cult of Rajavi as the main responsible for the traumas the children of Mujahedin endured. The cases of the MEK children and MEK child soldiers should be investigated by the International human rights bodies. The MEK leaders must be brought to justice for what they did with hundreds of their orphans.

Mazda Parsi

August 31, 2024 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Former UN rapporteur for Iran under fire for sharing stage with MKO terrorists

Javaid Rehman, who until recently acted as the UN special rapporteur for Iran, recently attended an event by the anti-Iran MKO terror cult.

The former UN special rapporteur for Iran, known for his close ties with the Albania-based anti-Iran terrorist cult MKO, is again under fire for attending an event hosted by the group.
Javaid Rehman, who until recently served as the UN special rapporteur on the “human rights situation in Iran,” was seen participating in an event organized by the MKO terror cult, where he presented another fictitious report on the “human rights situation” in the Islamic Republic.

The event, sponsored by the MKO terror cult, has drawn sharp criticism for Rehman’s association with the group.

The event was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by MKO terror group leader Maryam Rajavi, prompting widespread backlash on social media, with netizens slamming Rehman’s blatant hypocrisy.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also criticized Rehman, stating that the former rapporteur “has served the MKO terror group on multiple occasions.”

“Javaid Rehman has provided numerous services to the terrorist MKO. It was no surprise to see him attend the gathering of MKO terrorists,” Kanaani wrote on his X page on Monday.

“His evident alignment with this terrorist group under the guise of the UN Special Rapporteur had been notified on many occasions to the UN authorities,” he added.

Javaid Rehman has given numerous services to terrorist MKO. And he was not expected to not attend in the gathering of MKO terrorists.
His evident alignment with this terrorist group under the guise of the UN Special Raaporteur had been notified on many occasions to the UN…
— Nasser Kanaani (@IRIMFA_SPOX) August 26, 2024

Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaee, a senior member of Iran’s Constitutional Council, also took to X to denounce Rehman’s association with the MKO.

“Reports by UNSR (UN special rapporteur) should be ‘free from any kind of extraneous INFL, incitement, PRES, threat or INTRF…,” Kadkhodaee, a noted legal luminary, tweeted.

“Presence of ex-HR rapporteur alongside terror cults speaks volumes. Such SRs r NOT #HumanRights Advocates BUT defenders of terror & atrocity crimes.”

Reports by UNSR should be ‘free from any kind of extraneous INFL, incitement, PRES, threat or INTRF…’. Presence of ex-HR rapporteur alongside terror cults speaks volumes. Such SRs r NOT #HumanRights Advocates BUT defenders of terror & atrocity crimes.
— عباسعلی کدخدایی (@Kadkhodaee_ir) August 26, 2024

Many others on social media echoed these sentiments, calling out the hypocrisy of the UN rapporteur in sharing a stage with members of the notorious terror group who have blood on their hands.

“Javaid Rehman, former UN Rapporteur, who issued biased reports favoring the MKO, now freely attends meetings of this terrorist group,” wrote the Habilian Association, which represents families of Iranian victims of MKO terrorism.

“We’ve warned that the UN’s selection process for Iran rapporteurs is not transparent. Rehman’s support for the MKO must be investigated.”

The MKO is responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Iranians during the 1980s and 1990s, using terrorism as a weapon against the Iranian nation.

The group was listed as a “terrorist” organization by both the United States and the European Union until about a decade ago. However, tensions with the Islamic Republic led to its de-listing.

The turn of events in recent weeks, from Albania to France, bear testimony to what was clear from the beginning – the multi-billion-dollar investments in the MKO terror cult have been an exercise in futility. The cult is dead but not yet buried.

Rehman’s association with the MKO is not new, but it deepened during his tenure as the UN special rapporteur when he was accused of frequently pushing the terror group’s bogus narratives.

Last month, Kanaani dismissed a report released by Rehman on the human rights situation in Iran as part of broader efforts by adversaries to tarnish the Islamic Republic’s image.

“UN officials, specifically the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are legally responsible for preventing the exploitation of their positions to pursue biased personal or collective objectives against countries,” Kanaani stated at the time.

Rehman’s reports on Iran have often reflected the MKO’s propaganda, a connection that was particularly evident during the West-backed riots in Iran two years ago.

In an interview with Newsweek in October 2022, Rehman remarked that the riots “posed a threat” to the Islamic Republic but declined to comment on Western support for the bloody unrest.

August 28, 2024 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Terror victims not losing hope despite hardships

The ongoing trial for 104 members of the notorious terrorist group, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MEK), has brought joy to the families and survivors of terrorism in Iran, including Manijeh.

The long-term follow-up of these survivors finally came to fruition and now their complaints will be inquired after several decades.

On the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, a day dedicated to honoring and supporting terror victims, we published the story of Manijeh Safi Yari, an Iranian terror victim who was seriously wounded during a terrorist attack carried out by the MKO in 1985.

This piece was formerly produced by Jamaran News in Persian, which was translated by Habilian Association to English for the first time. Her sorrowful story reads as follows:

She was 17, brimming with the youthful exuberance and hope that comes with adolescence. She envisioned a bright future for herself, one filled with higher education, athletic achievements, motherhood, and more. But then, the bomb exploded, aiming to shatter her dreams. Undeterred, she rose, held her head high, and declared to the bombers, “If you have come to wage war against my will, I will defeat you. I am an Iranian Muslim, and you are a terrorist.”

Around 8:30 am on May 12, 1985, a deafening explosion shook Naser Khosrow and the surrounding streets in Tehran, leaving everyone stunned. The cause of the blast was initially unknown, but its bitterness still lingers in the memories of the area’s long-time residents and shopkeepers, many of whom have likely passed away.

A TNT bomb planted in a vehicle detonated, engulfing a two-story building, a garment factory, 15 cars, and 25 shops in flames. The human tragedy that ensued was immeasurable. Ordinary people, out shopping, working to earn a living, or simply going about their day, were either killed or left permanently disabled. This was, and remains, the logic of those who claim to fight for the people while turning their guns on them.

Nine people were martyred, and 45 were injured in the explosion – a victory in the eyes of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (aka MEK, MKO, PMOI). That same evening, as if celebrating a triumph, they claimed responsibility for the bombing. One of those who was present that day, a 17-year-old girl on her first trip to Tehran’s bazaar with her mother, was Manijeh Safi Yari. The following is based on a heartfelt conversation with her.

We finally managed to coordinate our schedules and formed a team of three: a journalist, a photographer, and a videographer. As we entered the home of Ms. Manijeh Safi Yari and her family, it felt as if all their warmth and enthusiasm had been poured into their words, making us feel like part of their extended family. Their welcome was warm and heartfelt. Ms. Safi Yari, leaning on a crutch, joined us in the living room and settled on the sofa. A gentle smile played on her lips. The old saying about how things work out in the end seemed particularly apt in this case.

Despite all the hardships, this couple fit together like pieces of a puzzle. It seemed as if God had created them for each other to find peace together. Due to Ms. Safi Yari’s injuries, the couple was unable to fulfill their dream of parenthood. However, their faith helped them navigate this challenge. There was no need for small talk or introductions. The family was so adept at sharing their story that questions came naturally, and Ms. Safi Yari answered them with a heartfelt openness.

On a spring day in 1985, a mother and her 17-year-old daughter had set out to experience Tehran’s bustling bazaar for the first time. As Manijeh was taking in her surroundings, a massive explosion threw her off her feet. She recounts believing she had been hit by a truck, only to realize it was an explosion.

Blood gushed from her leg, staining the ground, but Manijeh’s immediate concern was for her mother. Her mother was also injured, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. A thick cloud of smoke and fire engulfed the area. With a voice strained from the shock, Manijeh repeatedly cried out, “What happened? What happened?” As she regained her senses, she realized her right leg was severely injured, barely attached by a thin strip of skin. Yet, her primary worry was for her mother. She felt like a lost child, separated from her mother in a crowded market. Moments later, her mother, covered in wounds, found and embraced her. Manijeh’s hands became stained with her mother’s blood, and she feared her mother had been shot in the heart. Panic seized her.

A vehicle arrived to take them away, and amid the chaos of fire and smoke, they were loaded onto the back of a pickup truck. Manijeh and several others were placed on the truck. Her mother would occasionally regain consciousness, but Manijeh remained alert, observing her surroundings. They arrived at Sina Hospital, and as the back of the truck was opened, a river of blood flowed out. Despite her injuries, Manijeh remained strong. Mother and daughter were separated, with Manijeh staying at Sina while her mother was taken to Imam Khomeini Hospital.

The country was at war, and modern medical facilities were scarce. Manijeh was taken to the operating room. The shock of the explosion had delayed the onset of anesthesia. After the fourth attempt, the anesthetic still had no effect on her. The doctor could wait no longer and had to begin the surgery. To distract her, he asked irrelevant questions like, “What did you have for breakfast?” Manijeh was losing patience and begged the doctor to amputate her leg. But the experienced doctor refused, insisting that they needed to save her leg and perform a graft. The surgery was completed, but Manijeh looked as if she had taken a sleeping pill.

Finally, Manijeh’s energy reserves were depleted, and she fell into a deep sleep. When she awoke around midnight, she was surrounded by concerned family members who had come to offer their support. A few days passed, and as soon as she was able, Manijeh visited the other injured patients. Sadly, some of them had succumbed to their injuries.

A week passed, and the doctor concluded that the leg would have to be amputated. Manijeh, a 17-year-old who had excelled in both track and basketball, couldn’t comprehend the idea of losing her leg. She had no idea what a prosthetic leg was and couldn’t bear the thought of spending the rest of her life without one.

She had big dreams: attending university, continuing her education, getting married, having children. But these dreams, or at least parts of them, felt like a crumbling wall. As she contemplated the full extent of the tragedy, her anger boiled over. She was furious at those who claimed to be Muslims yet had committed such a heinous act. She demanded that the doctor leave the room, insisting that she would not allow her leg to be amputated. Tears had flowed so freely that she felt emotionally drained, pushing even her parents away. In those moments, she craved solitude. She began to envision a future where she would navigate life with one leg, study, fall in love, become a mother, and raise a daughter. Although some aspects of that future would later prove to be unattainable, Manijeh learned to rely on faith. It was not just a matter of words but a deep-rooted belief that guided her actions.

An hour later, Manijeh found peace in the comfort of her home. She asked her aunt to braid her hair and called the doctor. She was ready to embrace a life with a prosthetic leg. At seventeen, Manijeh was beginning to truly understand the meaning of trust and reliance on a higher power just like those combatants in the war who had shown resilience amidst the blood and fire at such a young age.

Manijeh had made her decision. She would continue her life under the umbrella of faith. She studied and attended university. She connected with the families of other terror victims, and when an association for supporting victims of terrorism was formed, Manijeh became the representative for child victims. In international forums, anyone under eighteen is considered a child. Each time she participated in these gatherings; her story remained the same. As a final statement of protest, she would say, “The only thing not being respected here is human rights.”

Political maneuvering in international forums is evident even when discussing victims of terrorism. Safi Yari shared her experience in France, saying, “In international gatherings, I proposed that psychological counseling sessions be held for these victims, because terrorism doesn’t discriminate between Iran and France.”

“The frail old people who once formed the MEK terrorist group, now easily form panels in these gatherings and defend themselves, claiming they have done nothing wrong, or if they have, it was completely justified. Can this really be called defending human rights? Do we all have to hit our heads against a stone, like Albania, to come to our senses?”

Ms. Safi Yari says, “After 42 years, we have finally been able to file a lawsuit against the perpetrators of the Haft-e Tir bombing at the International Court of Justice, but it has not yet been successful.”

Her wish is that the pleas for justice of the young children martyred at Bahrami Hospital as a result of Baathist regime’s bombing, the old and young who were killed in street assassinations, and others will one day be heard. She hopes to see the MKO discredited and that no country will provide them with refuge. She dreams of European and American countries having the courage to label them as terrorists.

August 27, 2024 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

North Korea and the MEK ban pets

When the media announced a few months ago that the leader of North Korea had banned the ownership of pets, no one knew that Massoud and Maryam Rajavi had implemented this type of ban in their cult of personality, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) decades ago.

The prohibition of the most trivial everyday concepts in dictatorial systems is proclaimed with various justifications. For example, the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has called keeping a pet dog as a capitalist or bourgeois behavior and against the socialist lifestyle. North Korea’s government is accusing people with pet dogs of committing “non-socialist behavior”.

But in the Cult of Rajavi, these restrictions are imposed on the members with other justifications. Mohammad Reza Torabi, a former child soldier of the MEK, while reminiscing about rescuing his neighbor’s cat in Berlin, Germany, writes about the hostile relationship of the MEK leaders with animals:
“In Ashraf, there were many dogs and cats in the camp, but the MEK did not allow us to feed them and pay attention them. It was forbidden. That is, the MEK do not even allow their members to establish emotional relationships with animals, let alone humans. This way, they killed people’s emotion. From time to time, they started hunting dogs at Camp Ashraf and killed dogs with Kalashnikovs.”

As usual, Mohammad Reza’s post on his X account, attracts the audience’s attention, and a few other former child soldiers of the MEK also share similar feedback for him in the comments. Their memories show the extent of suffocation ruling the MEK, which is much more than what is ruling the notorious North Korean dictatorship.

The former child soldier, who is active in the X social network under the pseudonym Aylin Moghadam, has a memory to confirm Mohammad Reza’s testimonies:
“”It was exactly like that, Maryam Hamed fed a cat and her kittens several times, they called her in the meeting and said that you have no right to feed the cats, because you are satisfying yourself, you have no right to go to the cats anymore.”

How can paying attention and love for an animal become a source of oppression in the brainwashing meetings of the Cult of Rajavi? This is a masterpiece that throughout history has only been done by destructive cults, and the MEK is one of its most professional examples. As Torabi rightly says: “Mujahedin systematically dehumanize.”

Azadeh Masum wrote about how she cared about the cats of around the MEK’s headquarters, Auver Sur d’Oise, France. What caused her to receive a strange warning from her superiors while living in France, in the cradle of civilization and democracy:
“It reminded me of my memories… I came out of the organization 3 months later and endured the nonsense meetings that Azer Jamshidi hold for me for 3 more months in order to have the opportunity to find a home and a family for the 17 kittens who were in Auver or sister’s shelter [female members’ dormitory], and they I was constantly criticized for my handling of these cats and their constant warning was that I should not play with them, otherwise the brothers [male members] will be “in trouble” with “moment”. Would you like to explain to others the meaning of “moment” some time?”

“Being in trouble with a moment” in the literature of the MEK means having sexual thoughts in one’s mind. The “moment” means the moment when a person thinks about the opposite sex or sexual issues. How taking care of a number of kittens creates? The argument of such issues can only be found in the MEK’s ruling
“The anti-socialist behavior of keeping a dog” or “satisfying an emotional need by feeding cats” or “sexual stimulation of male members by taking care of cats” all come from dictatorships, the ruling systems that require their community to conform to only one lifestyle and reject any other lifestyle with irrational arguments.

August 24, 2024 0 comments

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