News

++ Neda-ye Haghighat reports that over one hundred of the MEK who arrived in Albania have separated from the group. In an effort to control these desertions, the MEK has promised to pay the defectors and look after them separately from the main body of MEK members in return for their silence. As long as they do not speak out about their experiences in the MEK as other former members have, the MEK will accommodate them. However, the number of such defectors is growing almost daily and it is clear that the MEK is slowly falling apart.

++ Each year the MEK takes a different approach to marking Ashura, the most significant event in the Shia religious calendar. This approach depends on who the MEK’s current paymasters are. This year, because the MEK wants to fit in with Saudi demands, Ashura has been practically ignored.

In English:

++ Anne and Massoud Khodabandeh wrote ‘Albanian citizens fearful of radicalised Mojahedin Khalq neighbours deserve more information. The article highlights the fact that no de-radicalisation programme has been created to deal with the over 2500 radicalised MEK members who are now living in apartments in a suburban neighbourhood. The government of Albania has not communicated with its citizens about this. It has also neglected to warn the neighbouring families about the potential danger of sexual deviancy among the MEK due to the particular form of radicalisation which they undergo. The article was published in Albanian in Gazeta Impact.

++ Iran Interlink reported ‘Albania: Radicalised MEK member convicted for attempted rape of 11-year-old boy. After befriending a local family, last March MEK member Mousa Jaberifard sexually assaulted their young son. He was sentenced to four years in prison and will serve two years. While acknowledging that nobody knows yet whether this was a one-off event or an indication of deeper problems of sexual deviancy among the entire MEK population, the article concluded “Even though the group arrived in Albania under the auspices of the UNHCR, there is no programme to de-radicalise members of the group. This means that even if they separate from the MEK, the members remain radicalised and can still pose a threat.”

++ Mazda Parsi’s article for Nejat Bloggers ‘Flow of speaking and writing fees to the Mojahedin Khalq paid sponsors’ highlights the irresponsibility of the MEK’s paid sponsors who merely repeat the MEK’s own propaganda. “’Always well-financed with laundered funds from hazy sources (including Saddam Hussein, and more recently the Saudis and the U.S. among others), for years the MEK spread money around like honey in Washington, Paris and other power centers,’ writes Farid Khavari of the InvestmentWatchBlog. [Patrick] Kennedy tries to convince the audience that the MKO relocation in Europe as a step forward to have ‘closer contact with European governments and the world community, where they can tell their stories and continue their activism in favor of regime change in Tehran.’ He seems to be so manipulated by the group’s propaganda and money that he cannot understand that the notorious MKO cult will never be that viable force to bring regime change except with military intervention of the West. ‘Iranians would never vote for this government, and it could only be installed by U.S. military action,’ Farid Khavari writes.”

++ Nejat Society reported that Mr Shahab Forouzandeh left the Rajavi cult after he arrived in Albania. His family had tried on numerous occasions to meet with him in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, but they were denied this right by the MEK leaders. Since arriving in Albania, tens of members have deserted the group and stepped into the free world reports say.

October 14, 2016

++ MEK internal critic Iraj Mesdaghi is known as a prolific internet ranter. In the midst of his outpourings this week, he published pictures which he claims show Massoud Khodabandeh talking with somebody and using obscene language. Mesdaghi claims that Khodabandeh, the MEK and the Iranian government have all collaborated to work against him. Khodabandeh answered, saying that although he would not usually engage with such rants it has been necessary to apply an analytic response in this case. He says the accusations are clearly fabricated since he never met with any such person and would never use such bad language. What is relevant is that Mesdaghi’s situation is rendered pretty sad by this. Whether he faked the images and speech himself or it was fed to him by the MEK or others, it is clearly exploiting his known weaknesses in order to discredit him and thus undermine the evidence and documents he brings to the 1988 prison executions investigation. Mesdaghi was part of this event and exposing him now as a liar and cheat brings discredit to his evidence. As the Persian proverb says, he is throwing a mouse into the stew (Ash) of other cooks.

++ In Iran the Association of Graduates of Sharif University published a booklet of former graduates. Maryam Rajavi’s picture is there too. There have been mixed reactions, with people asking, ‘was this deliberate?’ Many reminded us of the time that the MEK would place ads for shampoo in Iranian newspapers using Massoud Rajavi’s picture, or place an announcement in the small ads with a picture of Maryam Rajavi saying, ‘we are waiting for you my beloveds’. It is more likely, however, that this has happened because nobody knows her. The younger generations have no idea who she is. For them she is just an old woman, past retirement age who used to go to their university.

++ Muharram has started and it is nearly Ashura. Every year the MEK changes its mind as to whether it should mark the event or ignore it depending on their circumstances. This time they are trying to create an anti-Shia image of themselves to suit what the Saudis need. Commentators point out that Saddam was anti-Iranian, the Saudis are anti-Shia and Israel is anti-both of them. But interestingly, the MEK – claiming to be both Iranian and Shia – manage to have kept their place among them and mark Ashura as well.

++ A book has been published in Iran called ‘My life with the Mojahedin’. It is written by a former MEK member who had originally been a POW. He describes how the MEK made him suffer until he submitted to going with them rather than remain in Saddam’s prison. After escaping the MEK after 2003 he took refuge with the American army before getting to Germany. He has now returned home to Iran and to his family.

In English:

++ IRNA – “Iran took the complaints of families of victims of terrorist operations carried by Mujahedeen Khalq Organization to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. During the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADVT) called for the realization of human rights of victims of terrorism. ADVT said that cultural campaign must be initiated to uproot terrorism in the world.”

++ A report by the Congressional Research Service, headed by Kenneth Katzman, and titled ‘Iran: Politics, Persian Gulf Security, and U.S. Policy’ devotes a page at the end to describing the MEK. In spite of strange contradictions which are probably a result of energetic ‘copy and paste’ and too little ‘read and edit’, the passage makes interesting reading.

October 07, 2016

++ The MEK have retreated into themselves. But in Farsi the questioning has continued: ‘what are we celebrating?’ Esmail Vafa Yaghmai a former member, well-known poet and now an internal critic, gave a long interview to Mihan TV. He was asked, ‘you [MEK] went to Iraq to overthrow the Iranian regime and up until this year many people have been killed because you refused to leave Camps Ashraf and Liberty. Now you have been deported, you are all celebrating. What is it you are celebrating? Yaghmai talks about cult mentality and why the members have no choice but to obey orders. He says, however, there is hope because the members are out of the isolated and closed atmosphere of Iraq. They are now closer to the real world and the controls imposed in Iraq cannot be replicated. Their future will be different – they will be different. But, of course, after 30+ years, don’t’ expect overnight change. Several other Farsi commentators, in particular MEK internal critics, demand an explanation, a review of the past 30+ years, some kind of closure on the Iraq venture. The most amusing reactions in the Farsi commentosphere are in response to Maryam Rajavi’s interview with a Saudi paper in Qatar in which she declares ‘the phase of toppling the regime is starting now’! Then, just what were you doing until now?

++ Nejat published its third communique to the families. As with the first two, Nejat congratulates the families because their loved ones have been moved to safety and we can be more hopeful about their futures. However, Nejat warns the families about the MEK’s plots so they don’t fall into their trap. The MEK has now instructed members to contact their families. Nejat greets this as a positive thing because even hearing a mother or father’s voice can break the cultic mentality which imprisons the members. However, behind this contact, the MEK are organising. They tell the member to ask their families for money. They have even placed people in separate accommodation according to their family circumstances. For wealthy families, the member is to ask for a capital lump sum to help them start a business venture. Nejat’s advice is:

1. Keep all conversation to family matters only. No matter how much you hate the MEK, please don’t provoke your loved one. Remember they are in a cult and are not thinking for themselves. Do not alienate or anger them but keep the conversation flowing.

2. Do not refuse to give them money. Instead, ask for more information about the channel through which they will receive the money and how they can be sure the money will get directly to them. Do not send any money.

3. Do not allow your loved one to pass you over to a third party saying ‘I can’t talk just now’. The other person will be an expert deceptive manipulator. Only talk directly to your loved one and keep the conversation going as much as possible. The more you keep talking and do not pay anything, the more likely it is that your loved one will exit the Mojahedin cult.

In English:

++ Iran-Interlink and Mazda Parsi for Nejat Bloggers pick up on the MEK’s celebrations and ask what victory, what celebration? What is this propaganda hoping to achieve? Both mention the MEK’s murky past and point out that the move was forced and that the MEK resisted until the last moment. This ‘victory celebration’ is aimed at diverting attention and numbing the members’ minds so they don’t ask awkward questions.

++ Nejat Society criticises the MEK’s advocates as ignorant of the group’s internal dynamics and points out that Nancy Pelosi in particular has been misled about what ‘family’ means inside the MEK. Pelosi released a statement about the removal of the “last families” from Camp Liberty and claims the relocation “marks the beginning of a new and hopeful chapter for families who have suffered terrible persecution and violence.” Nejat describes the reality of the MEK in which families have been destroyed and no peer relationships are allowed. MEK members only attach themselves to the leader.

++ Al-Alam has been granted first exclusive access to the empty Camp Liberty. The film [in Arabic] shows conditions inside the camp.

++ Press TV has produced a half-hour documentary based on an award winning film made in Iran. The film is a love story but shows how involvement in a terrorist cult like the MEK is destructive of both families and society. The documentary describes modern slavery and links common behaviours in the Jonestown cult, Daesh and the MEK that endanger society.

++ Impact newspaper, Tirana, Albania, [translated by Iran-Interlink] has published a letter from MEK families to Prime Minister Edi Rama. The estranged families ask for his help since the MEK leaders don’t allow them to make contact with their loved ones. [This is different from the MEK tactic of getting members to contact their families to ask for money. In this case, it is the families who take the initiative who are rejected.] The letter ends saying “We hope that this letter will be read personally by you, the Prime Minister of Albania and that you will enable us to rejoice with our children. It is in your power to help us and grant us our request.”

September 30, 2016