Nejat Society
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Media
    • Cartoons
    • NewsPics
    • Photo Gallery
    • Videos
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Nejat NewsLetter
    • Pars Brief
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Editions
    • عربي
    • فارسی
    • Shqip
Nejat Society
Nejat Society
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Media
    • Cartoons
    • NewsPics
    • Photo Gallery
    • Videos
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Nejat NewsLetter
    • Pars Brief
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Editions
    • عربي
    • فارسی
    • Shqip
© 2003 - 2024 NEJAT Society. nejatngo.org
Auver-sur-Oise

The Secrets Behind Auvers-sur-Oise (French HQ of Mojahedin Khalq)

The terrorist group of “Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization,” also called “MEK” or “MKO,” which is featured among some countries’ lists of terrorist groups is being protected in a small town only 30 kilometers from Paris, in Auvers-sur-Oise; this has resulted in neglect of public interest and freedom of speech. During the years, the organization has been responsible for a lot of terrorist acts against innocent Iranian citizens both in Iran and abroad. Press TV presents its investigative documentary about the MEK headquarters in France at Auvers-sur-Oise in Ile-de France, near Paris.

The life that surrounds this strange place, the movements in and out of the compound as well as the links between the organization and the neighborhood are all depicted in this informative documentary. The so-called Iranian resistance exiled in France has tried its best to look like a pacific organization in the neighborhood where they have been since the 1980s but in the recent years neighbors and human rights organizations have started asking questions of what this place is all about. On the 26th of January 2014, the French Association called “Peace” organized a demonstration against cults in France. They denounce in Auvers-sur-Oise the presence of the MEK terrorist group and the support they receive from the mayor of the town.

To download the video file click here
—

Transcript:

Still on screen: “Mind-altering practices unquestioning commitment to the group cult of personality

preoccupation with bringing in new members shifting alliances in exchange for power these are the guidelines of a cult. What if we told you that this dangerous cult has its base in Paris, France?”

SOUNDBITE [English] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “By some luck or maybe some unluck performance, we found that there was an organization in France, and this organization used to have some members who decided to burn themselves, so we tried to know why. Why did they decide to burn themselves in the middle of the street, in Paris, in a day of July in 2003.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “Why is there such a movement in France? Why do French know nothing about an organization which has a terrorist background and is living their country?”

Narration: The following story is so hard to believe that it could be the perfect script for a fiction film. Unfortunately, it is a true story. While France is recovering from the latest assaults in Paris and the world is focused on stamping out what has been called Islamic Fundamentalism, an Iranian organization that has featured among some countries’ lists of terrorist groups is being protected in a small town only 30 Km from Paris, in Auvers-sur-Oise.

SOUNDBITE [English] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “We found that MEK organization was a very special organization because it was a cult and it was an organization fighting, as they say, for peace, fighting or the rights of their members and fighting for Iranian people. But when we saw what we saw, those pictures of burning people in the street, those pictures and stories of people living all those yearsin the MEK organization, we knew that it wasn’t a normal organization.”

Remember.Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) was one of the excuses of US attacking Iraq

Narration: The Moudjahiddin Khald Organization, usually abbreviated to MEK or MKO, started in 1965 as an underground political party opposed to the Shah of Iran. The MEK murdered several of the Shah’s U.S. security advisers prior to the Islamic Revolution, and the group actually helped to guard the U.S. Embassy after Islamic students seized it in 1979.

The enemies of the Shah worked together uneasily for a time, but their cooperation was short-lived. Very soon after the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK organization, left for Auvers-sur-Oise, in France. There, Massoud Rajavi created the so called National Council of Resistance of Iran (the NCRI).

Some years later, Massoud would marry another MEK member called Maryam who decided to divorce her own husband and marry the ideological leader before a gathering of MEK members in Paris. She then became the president elect of the NCRI, which she claims until today to be the only valid political opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

SOUNDBITE [English] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “In general when people have problems, political problems with their country and they are trying to find a solution or maybe trying to escape a special situation in their country, France accepts those kind of people. And I think that the MEK organization and Rajavi first of all saw that there was this possibility for them. To enter in a country which will not prevent them from their liberties?”

Narration: In 1986, Paris regularized its relations with Tehran and Massoud Rajavi was asked to leave France. He went to Iraq, Iran’s eternal enemy of the time, where he created the so-called National Liberation Army and conducted several cross-border forays in Tehran. They were called the “private army” of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq-Iran war and that is why they are regarded by most Iranians as traitors and hypocrites, hence the name Monafeghin. They were based in Camp Ashraf, which is situated in Iraq, about 80 kilometers west of the Iran border and 40 kilometers north of Baghdad.

Since then, the MEK organization has conducted terrorist attacks against the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran and they have been said to be responsible for the deaths of over 10.000 Iranian citizens, including many children. In Paris, Henver and Françoise, two young activists from an anti-cult organization know this group quite well and have been confronted by them on several occasions.

SOUNDBITE [English] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “When you go in the city of Auvers-sur-Oise and you ask about the MEK organization, there is no answer but some people indicate you that their group and their house is at the end of the city. So, when you decide to go in the city, near MEK organization’s house, you see that they are not normal and maybe more dangerous than we think. For example, here it is the house, and here there is a little box. This box is the security guard. There is a very, very long street in front of this house. You have the house of MEK organization and there is nobody here.

You don’t see people go inside or go outside. The guy here is here to check if you are normal or if you are not normal. By normal I mean if you are friend of MEK, you can come in, if you are not friend of MEK, they see you as a potential enemy. So they are with their talkie walkie. I don’t know if they have weapons but, in France we call it “the mirador” There is this place with the security guard and just behind there are a lot of possibilities to hide something.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “We carried out first action in Auvers-sur-Oise in January last year. We went there with some other activists and it didn´t go very well. Because we came peacefully to inform people in Auvers-sur-Oise and to ask them if they knew about the organization’s history, if they knew that they have people like the MEK members living among them.”

SOUNDBITE [French] slogans: ““The MEK is lying to you” The MEK is lying, the MEK is lying. We say no to cults and no to terrorism!”

SOUNDBITE [English] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “It was very strange to be in this city, a French city and it was like you cannot ask about this organization, you can’t even go inside the city if you are not from the city.”

Mojahedin khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) the ending stage of the radicalization process

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “We want to denounce that the members of this organization do not have the right to live freely, that they don´t have the right of freedom of expression, that they don’t have the right to see their families, that they have lost many members of their families. We don´t do politics, we just want to denounce what’s really happening.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “The people standing there didn’t seem to understand what was going on or maybe they were just not aware. But at least we met a resident who asked the major of the town at the time “is that right? What are these people doing here? We see them but we don’t know who they are” And the mayor didn’t know what to answer. But in any case, when he came to meet us, he immediately categorized us as collaborators of the “Iranian Regime”.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Group of Peace activists in Auvers-sur-Oise: “We are here to denounce the presence of the MEK Organization in France Ok. Especially their presence here in Auvers-sur-Oise. Oh! You are linked to the Iranian Regime?! No, not at all. Why do they live in a fortified camp? We see it when we walk in the street. Please, answer them. There is a bunker inside the camp.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “We were unwelcome because the MEK members arrived very quickly. They were warned by some residents who sympathize with this group. So they warned them and they arrived very quickly en masse. If I remember well they were more than 10 people. Some arrived by car and others on foot. They assaulted us and wrenched our banners from us, we were insulted and hustled away. It was very violent.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Group of Peace activists in Auvers-sur-Oise: “You are being provocative, you don’t realize the provocation you are causing. What do you mean we are being provocative? We are just denouncing something and it’s our right. We’ll be back! Thank you all. Have a nice day! Sorry for the trouble, we just wanted to inform you! It is important to know what is happening in your town, in Île de France and in the whole of France. Good luck, have a nice day! Each of us is free to have its own ideas. We are living in democracy. Long live France!”

Narration: Eventually the French police came and guided this group of young people fighting for peace to the station so that they could leave Auvers-sur-Oise safely. Even on the train the MEK members kept following them.

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “The group of MEK members that were at the station have been stopped by the French police.

But when the train arrived, three of those people got into our train and they followed us into Persan Gaumont, where the train’s security had to intervene in order to assure our safe arrival to destination.”

Narration: The European Union, Canada and the United States formerly listed the MEK as a terrorist organization, but this designation has been lifted in most of this countries since 2012 due to a strange and ambiguous support from some members of the US Congress as well as a great deal of lobbying from the organization itself, which is said to pay some politicians to gain their support. With offices in Washington, Paris and all over Europe, today, each person or in situation which has ever dared to combat this organization has being confronted with a powerful and dangerous group. Our team decides to travel to Iran and meet ex-members of this strange organization. Only the people who have been inside MEK can best tell us the secrets lying behind the political face of this group.

The Life of Camp Ashraf, Mojahedin-e Khalq Victims of Many Masters

SOUNDBITE [English] Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Former MEK Member: “My name is Ebrahim Khodabandeh I was born in 1953 in Tehran, I left to Britain in 1971 to study there.

And in 1980 I was recruited by the Moudjahedin Khalgh Organization, MKO. I was working full time in the organization, mainly in Europe for 23 years. In 2003 I was sent to Syria for a mission and I was arrested there along with my colleague. We were carrying about 2 million dollar cash. We were supposed to carry the money from Iraq to Paris. I served 2 months in a prison in Syria, then we were extradited to Iran where we were taken to even prison. In Even prison I used to find myself still committed to the organization. I committed myself not to even watch the Iranian television, not to read the Iranian papers and I wouldn’t talk to anybody anything against the organization. I used to think that the only person I can trust in this whole world is Massoud Rajavi. So, it took about one and a half or two years that I was totally convinced that I was subject of mind manipulation and brain washing. When I was in even prison, gradually I started to study about mind control and mind manipulation. There was this book, written by Mrs. Margaret Talasinge, my brother sent it to me and I started reading it. It was called: “Cults in our mists”” And I found the techniques used for mind manipulation by destructive mind control cults, exactly are the same techniques used inside the organization.

When I realized that I was deceived into this organization and that everything they told me was wrong, I was sort of mentally paralyzed. And I found everything meaningless and sort of hollow. It took me some time by the aid of psychiatrist that I managed to come to the normal life.”

Narration: When the organization was first established, both men and women joined to seek a brighter future, but one day, Massoud Rajavi announced the “Internal Revolution” he came up with a new idea about marital life; it was detrimental to the future of the organization. For him, marital love was an obstacle that could definitely hinder the progress of his plan. Therefore, Rajavi called for a compulsory divorce of all MEK members. From that moment on, Rajavi’s cult techniques proliferated and the oppressions to the MEK members multiplied.

SOUNDBITE [English] Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Former MEK Member: “Now I would like to talk a little bit about MKO’s base in Paris, in Auvers-sur-Oise, which some people call Maryam’s garrison. It consists of few bungalows attached to each other and very tall walls with barbed wires and a lot of cameras around. And it’s nothing like the area, I mean, when you go to the area, the maximum height of the walls are half a meter, but the walls of this place are more than 3 meters. Nobody knows what is going on inside there. The atmosphere inside this camp is like any other cult, it’s very restricted. People have to have special permission from the higher authorities to leave the camp or to get into it. Some few hundred people live there, who have not left the place for many years.”

There should be a reason, a good reason for leaving the place, like going for medication or for doing tasks. Otherwise there is no point to leave there. Men and women work totally separated and there are dormitories for girls and for boys separated from each other. And people work 24 hours. They are deprived of having rest; this is a cult technique, to put the people under so much psychological and physical pressure that they will not think about their future and their surroundings and all that.”

Narration: In 1994 the main building, where Maryam Rajavi lives was deliberately set on fire. The new building has a garage underneath, the walls have been reinforced with concrete to withstand RPG7 missiles, and windows are bullet proof. B is the main entrance to the compound except for Maryam Rajavi but she has a special door connecting A and B.

Sydney hostage-taker was affiliated with Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)

Massoud’s brother has a separate residence. He is very well known by Auvers.sur-Oise residents. Saleh Rajavi has a licensed gun which is given to Rajavi’s security people located in front of A and B. The Rajavis have always seen security as a way of showing their importance and it is known that Maryam Rajavi always insists on hiring French security. She pretends they are French police. Our team goes to Auvers-sur-Oise to check what Ebrahim Khodabandeh had told us about the area. We had no problems filming anywhere. We then confirmed that most of the houses in the area have law walls or none at all and some even have their gates wide open. But when we approach the MEK’s house, things became rather different…

Conversation [French] Between two men: “-Hello

– Are you a journalist?

– No. I am not a journalist. I am a tourist, and I have a friend who wants to make a film in the area and so I came to visit here.

-Why? You told me it is forbidden to film here.

-Here, yes

-Why is it forbidden here?

-Because we have security

-Security for what?

-Because I am just filming.

-I know, you can pass by and film before or after (our building).

-Why is it not possible here?

-Because this is where the Iranian Resistance lives.

-So what? I have nothing against Iranians

-Why can I not film here?

-If you want to film here you have to ask for permission.

-Ask whom for permission?

-I am in the street without a tripod.

-So you can pass in the street.

-Yes, of course I am going to pass but I don’t understand, I filmed the whole town.

-Do you want to take pictures or film?

-I am filming because my friend wants to film here or maybe in a different town.

-Hello

-Where do you live now?

-Where do I live now?

-I live in Paris.

-In Paris?

-Yes.

-Hello, sir

-Hello. I don’t understand. I arrived in this street because

-I have been filming around the town, for a friend, and this guy tells me it is forbidden.

-But I am in a public street.”

Link to the full description of Mojahedin (MEK, MKO) Logo (pdf file)

Narration: MEK members believe that they can be attacked at any moment. This fear has been installed inside the organization and forms part of cult techniques. Years ago there were barriers both sides of the street protecting the compound even more from the outside. These were set up by the French authorities but were then taken away as they have never believed a serious threat exists. The bollards in front of the house were put there by the MEK organization to prevent car bombs. In June 2003 the French police raided the MEK’s base in Auvers-sur-Oise, under the orders of the anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, following suspicions that the MEK organization was planning to bomb Iranian citizens in Europe. 158 people inside the compound were arrested. The police found 8 million 600 thousand USD dollars in cash in the safe in Maryam Rajavi’s bedroom.

SOUNDBITE [French] Commissar Duval, the Central Office for Fighting Major Financial Crime in France: “We will do everything that is technically within our powerregarding the traceability of the funds.Both the funds in accounts and in cash.We will try to answer two questions:where does the money come from andwhere is it going?”

Narration: Investigators from the central financial crime bureau in France, tried to determine the origin of that amount cash, but they were unable to do so. Maryam Rajavi was released following several self-immolations by members of the organization that took place in France and the rest of Europe.

SOUNDBITE [English] Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Former MEK Member: “From the beginning of establishing international relations of the organization I was a member of it. I traveled to more than 20 countries and in each country I did political work for the organization. I was one of the responsible people there, in many cases I met a lot of politicians, tried to convince them to support the organization and this went on for 23 years. Trying to give a very horrible image of the Islamic Republic of Iran and show the MKO as the only alternative. We were trying to tell the western people, trying to frighten them from Iran, saying that Iran is after nuclear weapon, they are trying to send terrorist to Europe and all that. We used to fabricate a lot of lies against Iran to gain our way and all this has been justified, to do that because we thought that we have an aim, a goal and to reach that goal, we are allowed to do whatever possible. So, we knew that we were lying and we would do that because we thought that this is for the benefit of the people of Iran.”

Narration: We continue our journey to Shiraz to meet a victim from the MEK’s terrorist attacks.

SOUNDBITE [Persian] Zahra Noorbakhsh, Victim of Mek’s Violence: “These are the marks the Monafeghin (the Hypocrites) left on me. Since my childhood, when I was four years old, I have been carrying these marks until today; 33 years have passed since that event.

I lost all my beauty, my hands, my head, my body, my face. These are the traces the Monafeghin left on me. May God curse them. We were on the bus. It was Eid Al-Ghadir celebration and we wanted to go to Shiraz on pilgrimage to the Shah-e-Cheragh Mausoleum. We were on the bus and there were a lot of people. Four women got on the bus and they had firebombs on them. They threw the firebombs into the middle of the bus. The bus caught fire. When the bus went on fire, we were in the middle of it and everyone run towards the doors to get out. My sister and I were in the middle of the bus and we were engulfed in flames. My sister got completely burnt, she was burnt to death. And I was injured. I immediately took to hospital. I had very bad injuries on my head, my hands and my face.

Why do the western countries support the Monafeghin? Why do they give them shelter, money and everything they want? Who is accountable to individuals like me, to listen to us?”

Narration: Not far from where this family lives, we meet two ex-members of MEK.

 

Massoud and Anne Khodabandeh: Albanian citizens fearful of radicalised Mojahedin Khalq neighbours deserve more information

SOUNDBITE [Persian] Hamed Sarrafpour, Former MEK Member: “I am Hamed Sarrafpour. Almost 35 years ago, when I was 14, I got acquainted with the MEK. After that I was in Iran for 7 years with the MEK. I left Iran and went to Pakistan. Through Pakistan I went to Iraq. Then I spent 22 years in Iraq with the MEK in different camps. Of these 22 years, I was kept prisoner by the Americans for four years. And a few years after being released by the Americans, I went to France and stayed there for almost four years. Almost for two years, the operations we undertook were along border zones, until we started with the operations that was later called “Mersad” and which the MEK called “Forough Javidan”.

After that we entered new phases since a ceasefire had been established in the Iran-Iraq war.

So there could not be any armed conflict along border zones. Therefore, Massoud Rajavi started new training afterwards. He blamed the defeat we suffered in the “Forough Javidan” operation on the members of the so-called [National] Liberation Army [of Iran].

To cover his failure over and blame others, he said, “It was your fault that we were defeated.”

This was the beginning of his gradually intensifying his repressions. Then the persecutions started. From that moment I was not authorized to… I lacked individual freedom, it was not possible to have any contact outside the MEK, I could not contact my family by telephone or even by letter, any kind of individual rights, the rights that every human being as an individual should benefit from, I had none of them. From that moment I felt that the atmosphere became more and more oppressive for me there.”

Narration: Back in France, Henver and Françoise are ready to carry out a new action. They are going back to Auvers-sur-Oise to speak with the new mayor of the town. This time they bring no banners or slogans, they are visiting to make sure the new mayor knows about the presence of a dangerous organization in town. Apparently Henver and Françoise have been recognized.

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “We don’t know who warned them. I am sure it is that man. I saw him going in, it must be him.”

Narration: Is she reporting some MEK enemies in town? Does she really need the picture? or is it an intimidation technique?

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “-It is going to be quick.

-Hello, I am Dos Santos,

-Dos Santos…

-And she is Mrs. Philippe.

-We represent Association PEACE,

-which is an association working to inform the community about cults.

 

-Oh!!!”

Narration: Strange reaction! An organization fighting against cults so surprising? or maybe she knows who Henver is talking about?

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “-We came last year, we organized a…

-Oh, so it’s you who organized that demonstration?

-OKz! Oh my God! OK!”

Narration: Confirmed, she knows who Henver. Is talking about and also who he is.?

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”:

“-We just want to have your opinion.

-You can’t take a photo of me, I forbid you to do so, it is out of the question.

-We won’t do it without your consent.

-You know…I am the mayor of all the people in Auvers-sur-Oise, Exactly!

-I am committed to a citizen list and I can’t position myself.

-If you want my opinion, that kind of demonstration bothers me a lot.

-Why is that?

-Because I think it is violent and it scares people, I don’t like that.

-But we came only with banners, to inform people.

-Yes, no problem, but it bothers me and I don’t authorize much this kind of thing in this town.”

Narration: She doesn’t authorize demonstrations in town?! In France? Where is freedom of expression?

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”:

Massoud Khodabandeh, Huffington Post: Can Albania Meet its Obligations and De-radicalize an Influx of Terrorists into Europe?

“-OK.

-OK?

-And what about the presence of the MEK Organization in your town?

-Why do you want me to talk about that?

-Because we are…

-I just answered you, I am the mayor of all the people living in Auvers-sur-Oise.

 

-Yes, exactly.

-Is it not enough for an answer?

-It will be my answer for today.

-Being the mayor of all the people in Auvers-sur-Oise for us doesn’t justify…

-I am in favor of peace and I am the mayor of all the people in Auvers-sur- Oise.

-I am committed to a citizen list and I act for the welfare of my town.

-And it is important.

-That’s all I will say.

-OK.

-Have a nice day!

-By the way, did you receive our email from last year?

-No.

-Goodbye for now.

-Thank you, goodbye for now.

-It is good to know the mayor’s position.

-Now we know what to expect.

-It’s better, isn’t it?

-She wants more pictures of us.”

Narration: What is she hiding. How can a so called peaceful organization act so strangely?

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”:

“-We could even say…

-maybe with her they are also in cahoots…”

SOUNDBITE [Persian] Hamed Sarrafpour, Former MEK Member: “We have no doubt that the mayor of Auvers-sur-Oise and the mayors from the 1st and 2nd districts of Paris receive financial help from the MEK. And that is why they protect them. I had not been to Auvers-sur-Oise because even the surroundings were very dangerous for us; we couldn’t even get close. We had only gone to Cergy and nearby, as far as Villepinte, not nearer than a few Kilometers

from Auvers-sur-Oise. Even in Cergy we were attacked.”

SOUNDBITE [English] Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Former MEK Member: “How come, and organization has such a free hand to do everything they want they even harass their own members to do whatever they like in the western countries and get away with it.

 

Some elements in the west believe that they have to support this organization, as it could be used against the Iranian Regime. But that is a total mistake. They have experienced it many times. Supporting terrorism doesn’t help anybody. They are experiencing terrorism now in France, but they could prevent this from the beginning when they were supporting them in Syria, when they were supporting them in Iraq. They give open hand to the terrorist for the short time benefits, but they get long time loses.”

SOUNDBITE [Persian] Hamed Sarrafpour, Former MEK Member: “Two years before I left Iraq, I was accepted as a refugee through the United Nations. After we arrived in Paris, there, for a long period of time, for a year or a year and a half, our file was blocked.

And they wouldn’t allow any lawyer to take up our case, to help us obtain refugee status there sooner. Amnesty International would assign a lawyer to open our file and see what was wrong.

After pursuing the case, the lawyer would abandon the case saying that for security reasons they had been advised to drop the case, and they would fear and quit the case. We talked to those responsible for French security on many occasions. We would ask them, “Why can Maryam Rajavi live so easily in Paris as a refugee while she has been our commander and the MEK leader?”

Why can she do freely whatever she wants in Paris as a refugee under your protection?

You take care of her who is on your terrorist blacklist whereas you block our file even though we have left her and her group.” They would not reply; they would just say, “This is a political issue and we can’t answer. This case goes beyond our responsibilities. You have to wait for your case to get out of the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless).”

June 22, 2012 We had organized a demonstration at Saint Michel Square in Paris.

We wanted to reveal MEK’s terrorist activities and oppression and highlight what went on during their meetings. But they had sent their people in advance. About 10 to 20 of their members had been sent to Saint Michel Square before we arrived. There, they assaulted us and stopped us from carrying out our plan of action. At that moment the police… the French police had not yet arrived to protect us, so they attacked us. As you can see… This is one of the MEK women; she has an umbrella and hits us with it. They are MEK’s vigilantes who attacked us with sticks and cudgels. The woman started first and the others, some of whom had covered their faces, followed. Many many times, on Maryam Rajavi’s orders, we were beaten on the streets of Paris. Our videos are available on YouTube. It can be seen how the MEK would attack our revelatory demonstrations, which had legal authorization from the city of Paris, and prevented us from organizing our meetings… A group which pretends to be a democratic one in France and is supported by many of French authorities, mayors and senators, so even though it is under their protection and pretends to be democratic, it can’t stand the slightest criticism in the middle of Paris from its opponents. Generally speaking, we didn’t feel safe. Every time we would go out, we had to take care if the MEK or Maryam Rajavi herself might have sent their people to beat us up on the street since they had issued threats.

In 1995, in one of the meetings, known as the Hoz (pool) meeting, where I was present, Masoud Rajavi said, “I am telling you, and I ask you, if we are ever defeated, kill all those who have separated from the MEK and made revelations on the streets of Paris and Europe. I will give you the weapons and the money. You just have to kill them. I will be in charge of the weapons and money, and you will be in charge of the killings.” In other words, since 1995, almost 20 years ago, he ordered the murder of his opponents in Europe. So it is not a secret. Naturally, when we walked in the streets of Europe, We expected the MEK to attack and kill us.”

Narration: Our team wanted to know why? If western authorities know about the terrorist past of this organization, why do many politicians agree to attend their rally in Villepinte every June where thousands of people gather to support Maryam Rajavi and the MEK Organization?

So we came to the meeting this year and to our surprise we found hundreds of buses with thousands of people from all over Europe and the Middle East: Afghans, Syrians, Poles, Ukrainians, Checks, Germans, however the Iranians attending the meeting were the minority.

Conversation [English] Crew member & some boys attending the rally in Villepinte:.

“-Did you come all over here just for this weekend?

-Yeah! Just for that conversation here.

-But they invited you.

-Yes, of course.

-It’s nice!

-Like everyone else here.

-So, have you been inside?

-Of course.

-And?

You don’t understand right?

-No, nothing.

-OK.

-Too much speaking, speaking and it makes me sleep. So we came outside, drink, eat, relax.

-But you have to spend the whole day here.

-Yeah, that’s what we are doing.

-But tomorrow no.

-No. Tomorrow we go to Paris. Just take pictures and things like that.

-When did you arrive?

-Ahh….Today, in the morning, at 11:00.

-And when do you leave?

-Tomorrow.

-By bus?

-Yeah.”

Conversation [English] Crew member & A girl attending the rally in Villepinte: “-Where do you come from?

Maryam Rajavi openly supported ISIS from French parliament

-From Prague.

-And did you come all over here just for the meeting?

-Yes, and to Paris too.

-But they paid for the whole trip, right?

-No, we had to pay something but a small amount of money.

-OK. And, where you inside the meeting?

-Yes, for 3 hours.

-And what do you think and what did you understand?

-I think it’s a strategy to bring us here because it is Paris and they made it very cheap so they can have their rally but we are not allowed to go out to the buses or to the hotel because otherwise they won’t give us the key to enter the hotel. It is the only way to keep us here.

And we are on the grass seating because they are just trying to support this woman who is outside of Iran and won’t change anything because she doesn’t have enough support. So we are the only ones here and we ate forced to stay.”

Conversation [English] Crew member & A girl attending the rally in Villepinte:.“-How do you feel after having seeing what is inside?

-I feel very disappointed because I came here because there was this organization which proposed this trip to Paris in order to know about this conference which I was told it was about human rights of Iranian people. I was excited about this because I study journalism, for me this is interesting. But when we arrived here, the first thing I saw was the bad organization, which meant something strange to me because when you come to an event like this they are supposed to be more organized and take care of the guests. We were waiting for two hours outside to get inside. Then once we were inside t was like we were in some kind of performance, like a political rally. And they didn’t speak about the topics I was told. They only spoke about supporting this lady and it seems as if they didn’t care about people around because people were doing other things and not paying attention. So I feel I was lied.”

SOUNDBITE [English] Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City: “How many people are here today? 100.000? a 110.000? How often have you come here?”

 

Narration: So the real question is not how many people are here today but how many Iranians are here and also how many people here have not been brought with a trip to Paris as bate to attend this meeting. Let us explain how the people are distributed inside the building where this rally is taking place. All the tourists occupy 90% of the space, in each seat they can find t-shirts, flags and all sorts of gadgets to look like good supporters in front of the cameras but closer to the stage we have a VIP zone where all the Iranians are meant to be sitting.

One would think that in such a huge meeting this zone would be packed but here is a still taken from the MEK’s official video where we can see a lot of empty seats. And not only that, you have to have a bracelet to get in, we obviously had not been invited as VIP’s but we found a young lady from the MEK organization distributing those bracelets for the VIP zone in a kind of hidden place. So there we go inside the VIP zone to find some Iranians, the only supporters they got, MEK members and plenty of empty seats.

National Security: Could Maryam Rajavi (Mojahedin Khalq) blackmail her friends in high places – Rudi Giuliani, John Bolton and Newt Gingrich

SOUNDBITE [English] Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City: “A country, a country and an Ayatollah who dedicates himself to the destruction of one of our strongest allies, the State of Israel. Who almost every week says, “destruction to the State of Israel”

We unequivocally support a non nuclear Iran. Now what does a non nuclear Iran mean?

It doesn’t mean two months away from being able to have a nuclear missile, it doesn’t mean one year away from having a nuclear missile. It doesn’t mean an Iran that will become a nuclear power in ten years.”

SOUNDBITE [English] Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Former MEK Member: “The first time the organization had revealed some facts about Iran’s nuclear activities; this information was given to the organization by the Israeli intelligence. Since they didn’t want to reveal it themselves, they wanted some Iranians to do that, they went to the monarchists and they didn’t accept to do that. They said that they would not do against the interest of their country. But the MKO accepted to do that. And this was the start of the Iranian nuclear crisis. After that, MKO had no role in it, but they wanted to keep their role because they claimed that they got this information from their sources inside Iran. So each time they used to fabricate some lies, give it out as Iranian’s nuclear activities, which was not true. And many times it was proven that it was not true. They wanted to be part of this western manufacture of crisis against Iran.”

Narration: When MEK political rallies taking place in Villepinte, former MEK members demonstrating against MEK and the Rajavi in the vary centers of Paris.

SOUNDBITE [English] Protesters in Paris: “Rajavi, terrorist! Terrorist, Rajavi!

Rajavi, Daesh! Daesh, Rajavi!

Rajavi, Daesh! Daesh, Rajavi!

Expel Rajavi!”

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “I am afraid that something can happen to me or to my family. And it’s true that when you have someone that is ready to the trend you in front of police, in front of security guards, in front of any kind of security of official authority, I am a little bit afraid. Yes, I am a little bit afraid.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “For me, those people are not normal. What they do is not normal, what they did in the past is not normal. Today they tend to show their seemingly peaceful face to the world, but we don’t know today what they are capable of doing.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Henver Dos Santos, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “It’s true that they succeeded in a kind of way, they succeeded to stop us by their threat, by their violence. Because… If I can ask you something, what do you do in front of someone ready to burn himself? They are very dangerous. I think we can continue our action and we will continue our action because freedom has to win. But for none, we decided to continue in another way, by communication, communication is the key.”

SOUNDBITE [French] Françoise Philippe, Activist against Cults Association “Peace”: “Many secrets remain in Auvers-sur-Oise that our team has not been able to unearth. But one thing we know is that in the very heart of Europe, a group of young French activists have been threaten by a so-called peaceful organization. They are afraid of carrying on with their plan of combating cults. In Auvers-sur-Oise, there are still many residents unaware of the origins of the terrorist group, living in their town, right beside them.”

(END)

Download The Secrets Behind Auvers-sur-Oise

December 7, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Former members of the MEK

A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference

A delegation of MKO ex- members participated a conference held by the Press Club of the European Union in Brussels on the role of civil society in Europe and also Justice and human rights on 29 and 30 November 2016, Peyvand-e Rahayee Website reported.

Mr. Isa Azadeh , Mr. Ghorbanali Hossein-Nejad and Reza Sadeghi Jebelli participated the Conference.

During the conference the MKO-ex members met and talked to journalists, reporters and media staff of different European states such as Albania.

MKO defectors explained the situation of the MKO Cult hostages, esp. after their relocation in Albania. They also elaborated different aspects of the Cult manipulative techniques such as suppression, violation of human rights, complete mental and physical control over members, incarceration and torture and even assassination of dissidents, cutting members off the outside world esp. their family members, celibacy, cutting off any access to the outside media,… . Former members of the MKO Cult shared their experiences as eyewitnesses of the Cult practices with the audiences.

Mr. Hossein-Nejad’s case as a father whose daughter is held hostage in Albania by the MKO Cult deeply affected the audiences.

European Journalists and reporters, esp. those from Albania made reports of the defectors’ delegation remarks. They got surprised hearing of the situation of more than 2000 Iranian individuals being held hostages by a cult in the European soil.

Balkan Free journalists interviewed Mr. Hosseinnejad , Azadeh and Sadeghi. The reporters hardly could imagine that the MKO members have no access to the outside world, media and phone. They took such a harsh censorship within the cult as a severe violation of citizenship and civil rights and condemned it.

By the end of this two-day conference, the MKO Cult defectors delegation participated the meeting of without-border journalists and explained how the Cult leaders deprive members of citizenship rights.

A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference
A delegation of the MKO ex- members participated the EU Press Club Conference

December 6, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Former members of the MEK

Pictorial- MKO defectors at the EU Press Club Conference

A delegation of MKO ex- members participated a conference held by the Press Club of the European Union in Brussels on the role of civil society in Europe and also Justice and human rights on 29 and 30 November 2016,

Mr. Isa Azadeh , Mr. Ghorbanali Hossein-Nejad and Reza Sadeghi Jebelli participated the Conference.

MKO defectors explained the situation of the MKO Cult hostages, esp. after their relocation in Albania. They also elaborated different aspects of the Cult manipulative techniques such as suppression, violation of human rights, complete mental and physical control over members, incarceration and torture and even assassination of dissidents, cutting members off the outside world esp. their family members, celibacy, cutting off any access to the outside media,… . Former members of the MKO Cult shared their experiences as eyewitnesses of the Cult practices with the audiences.

MKO ex- members at the EU Press Club Conference

December 5, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Former members of the MEK

MKO ex- members at the EU Press Club Conference

A delegation of MKO ex- members participated a conference held by the Press Club of the European Union in Brussels on the role of civil society in Europe and also Justice and human rights on 29 and 30 November 2016, Peyvand-e Rahayee Website reported.

Mr. Isa Azadeh , Mr. Ghorbanali Hossein-Nejad and Reza Sadeghi Jebelli participated the Conference.

During the conference the MKO-ex members met and talked to journalists, reporters and media staff of different European states such as Albania.

MKO defectors explained the situation of the MKO Cult hostages, esp. after their relocation in Albania. They also elaborated different aspects of the Cult manipulative techniques such as suppression, violation of human rights, complete mental and physical control over members, incarceration and torture and even assassination of dissidents, cutting members off the outside world esp. their family members, celibacy, cutting off any access to the outside media,… . Former members of the MKO Cult shared their experiences as eyewitnesses of the Cult practices with the audiences.  

Mr. Hossein-Nejad’s case as a father whose daughter is held hostage in Albania by the MKO Cult deeply affected the audiences.

European Journalists and reporters, esp. those from Albania made reports of the defectors’ delegation remarks. They got surprised hearing of the situation of more than 2000 Iranian individuals being held hostages by a cult in the European soil.

Balkan Free journalists interviewed Mr. Hosseinnejad , Azadeh and Sadeghi. The reporters hardly could imagine that the MKO members have no access to the outside world, media and phone. They took such a harsh censorship within the cult as a severe violation of citizenship and civil rights and condemned it.

By the end of this two-day conference, the MKO Cult defectors delegation participated the meeting of without-border journalists and explained how the Cult leaders deprive members of citizenship rights.

December 4, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Will America’s War with Iran Continue?

The United States has been at war with Iran for over thirty five years. Sometimes the war has been hot, sometimes cold, sometimes overt, and sometimes covert. Throughout this time period relations between the two countries have been hostile with very little diplomatic contact between officials of the two governments. In 2008, Barack Obama ran against Hillary Clinton on a platform of diplomatic engagement with Iran in opposition to her statements of being able to “totally obliterate Iran”.

Upon entering office, Obama, continuing America’s penchant for coercive diplomacy, doubled down on sanctions against Iran hoping that by causing economic hardship for ordinary Iranians he could pressure Iran to change its policies, particularly with respect to the development of nuclear capabilities. The strategy failed as Iran not only continued its peaceful nuclear development, but in many ways accelerated it. By his second term Obama, prioritizing addressing the nuclear proliferation issue, began negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue in conjunction Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia and China. (EU3 + 3) The negotiations resulted in the signing in July 2015 of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for removal of economic sanctions. The agreement was endorsed by the UN Security Council in an action that requires member states to carry out the agreement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has affirmed on numerous occasions that Iran has largely lived up to its obligations under the JCPOA. Obama has taken some executive action to live up the JCPOA by loosening the impact of the sanctions. The administration has approved the sale of aircraft and aircraft parts to Iran by Boeing and this week the US approved a license for Airbus to sell over 100 aircraft to Iran. However, the basic legal structure of sanctions remains in place. Obama has not moved as aggressively as he did in Cuba to increase U.S. business involvement in Iran, a step which would make the nuclear deal more difficult to reverse by engaging the business lobby in the issue.

Obama has not moved as aggressively as he did in Cuba to increase U.S. business involvement in Iran.

With the current sanctions authorization legislation set to expire on December 31, 2016, House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Iran Sanctions Extension Act by an overwhelming majorities (419 -1 and 99-0). Opponents of the JCPOA in the U.S. have argued in justifying this action, which is a clear violation of the JCPOA, that Iran has engaged in other “nefarious” activities, such as supporting the Assad in Syria, supplying arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi tribe in Yemen, developing ballistic missiles and in general resisting U.S. influence in the Middle East. The Senate has said that it will take up this bill in the rump session of Congress in December. Although Obama has indicated that he will veto the bill, the bipartisan support in Congress for sanctions extension means that a veto override is likely. Obama’s best option for preserving the nuclear deal is to fight a delaying action to “kick the can” down the road to the next administration where a Republican controlled Congress may be reluctant to create a big foreign policy problem for President Trump so early in his administration.

As on many issues, it is unclear what President Trump’s position will be on the JCPOA. During the campaign he condemned the JCPOA as a “horrible contract”, but acknowledging that it was a contract, vowed to renegotiate it. Renegotiating the agreement is probably not possible. The JCPOA is the result of complicated, intertwined negotiations over a long period of time. Reopening talks in an atmosphere of mistrust and recriminations likely means that the whole agreement would collapse. A number of senior Congressmen and potential officials in a Trump led government, having received large speaking fees, are closely tied with the Mujahidin-e-Khalq (MEK), an exiled Iranian opposition group with an odd Islamist/Marxist ideology. The MEK, having allied with Saddam Hussein during Iran-Iraq war, has the distinction of being more unpopular in Iran than the U.S. They will push a hard line approach under a Trump administration.

Passing Iran Sanctions Extension Act is a clear violation of the JCPOA.

The agreement, however, is not totally dependent on the U.S. Even if the U.S. withdraws from the agreement, Iran, under the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, and Russia, China and the EU have indicated that they will continue to abide by it. As it has in the past, the U.S. will likely use secondary sanctions on European companies to deter them from conducting business with Iran. This strategy will probably not be effective with Russia, India and China who have taken steps to disconnect their economy from the U.S. dominated and dollar denominated neo-liberal economic system. It remains to be seen how U.S. allies in Europe will react to being pressured to act against their own national interest.

The political situation in Iran will also have an influence on how U.S./Iran relations play out. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if sanctions are extended Iran will “respond”. What the response will look like depends, in large measure, on the outcome of the May 2017 presidential elections. Incumbent President Rouhani has maintained a position that engagement with the West will benefit Iran diplomatically and economically. Because sanctions have, in large measure, remained in place and because Iran has been slow to reform its economic system, the benefits have not met public expectations. Opposions have attacked the policy of engagement with the West. Faced with these political threats, Rouhani may be forced to tack to the right and abandon the JCPOA, kick out the IAEA inspectors and expand the nuclear program. In that case the undeclared war with Iran will continue with all of the uncertainties and potential for disastrous consequences.

BY Donald Liebich, A Herald Tribune,

December 3, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 170

++ Maryam Rajavi’s event on November 26th was her most feeble ever. Even the MEK couldn’t make anything of it in terms of media (or anyone else’s) interest and resorted to incorporating old videos into their report simply to make it look decent. All the MEK’s usual speakers have abandoned them and the group was left with third rate speakers and their paid lawyer.  The MEK introduced Shabnam Madadzadeh and Arash Rezai as ‘victims’. Madadzadeh had been imprisoned in Iran and as soon as she was released came to Europe where she aligned herself with the MEK. This created a backlash against human rights advocates outside Iran because they had claimed false imprisonment. Now it appears that Iran was right and she really was involved with an anti-Iran terror group. Fars News published sensational titles such as ‘Failed Coalition of Human Rights activists and MEK terrorists’ to smear the rights groups’ reputations. In this respect, an individual known to Iran Interlink who is from Jolfar where Madadzadeh originates, has written a piece revealing that Madadzadeh and her family are known in Jolfar as notorious charlatans and con artists. She and her brother have corrupted and cheated many people in their small city. “This in itself is not shocking” the author writes, “what is shocking however is that the MEK have stooped so low as to encompass her and welcome her as one of their own”. Others have written that human rights organisations shouldn’t have to suffer because of people like her. Human rights in Iran is a serious issue. The MEK haven’t conned Iran, they have conned human rights groups instead.

++ There has been further reaction to Rajavi’s Day of Students message. Commentators dismiss Rajavi as unrelated to the student organisation which was involved and unrelated to any students at all – no student supports Giuliani and Bolton. In the end, they say, you are doing this to benefit the hardliners in Iran. Writers ask ‘can Maryam replace Massoud?’. The answer: “No way!” Even if he was alive today he couldn’t do it, but her copying him, trying to do what he did twenty years ago, jumping on the bandwagon of anything to do with Iran, no way can she lead anyone or anything.

In English:

++ The questions relating to the past of some of Donald Trump’s potential cabinet members rumble on with a variety of articles devoted to either supporting or damning Rudy Giuliani in particular over his support for the MEK. Those rooted in truth and reality point to Giuliani’s own admission that he gave support to the MEK while they were listed as a terrorist entity in the USA; a criminal and moral offence. This particular aspect was pounced upon by Press TV which gleefully reported the anomaly. Jacob Sullum in Newsweek also pursued this issue arguing that if Hillary Clinton belongs in prison over the email scandal, so much more so does Rudy Giuliani belong in prison for supporting terrorists. Other articles variously try to whitewash the MEK’s past [not published by Iran Interlink] or to expose it. Daniel Larson writing in The American Conservative says “One of the more troubling things about American MEK supporters is their willingness to whitewash the group’s past as well as its present-day behavior. They aren’t content to work with an avowedly bad group against a common enemy, but feel compelled to pretend that the group is upstanding and noble.” In The Unz Review, Philip Giraldi writes about the ‘Iranophobes on Parade’ as Donald Trump seems to be filling his foreign policy and national security roles with ‘Iran haters’, notably those with links to the MEK. Referring to the MEK role in helping Israel to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists, Giraldi argues – as many others do – that building on the diplomacy involved in creating JCPA is America’s best option, not war.

++ Mazda Parsi in Nejat Society uses the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, as an occasion to expose Maryam Rajavi’s false and deceptive pretence to be the voice of Iranian women. Parsi argues that what happens to women inside the MEK is probably the most significant example of hidden violence against women. He quotes the RAND report to explain that the group leaders are “skilled manipulators of public opinion”, but that evidence of MEK violence against women is countless. The article provides several helpful links to information in English about this situation.

December 02, 2016

December 3, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Giuliani admitted ties to Mojahedin Khalq, MEK, Rajavi cult Terrorists

Rudy Giuliani belongs in prison

IF CLINTON BELONGS IN PRISON, SO DOES GIULIANI

Rudy Giuliani speaks before Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump at a rally in Cincinnati on October 13. Jacob Sullum writes that there is a strong case to be made that the former New York City mayor, who reportedly is in the running for secretary of state in the Trump administration, committed multiple federal felonies by assisting Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition group that the State Department listed as a terrorist organization until September 2012.

MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS

During the presidential campaign, Rudy Giuliani argued (correctly) that Hillary Clinton could be charged with a federal felony for mishandling classified information through her sloppy email practices as secretary of state even if she did not intend to break the law.

But there is also a strong case to be made that the former New York City mayor, who reportedly is in the running for secretary of state in the Trump administration, committed multiple federal felonies by assisting Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition group that the State Department listed as a terrorist organization until September 2012.

“My ties to them are very open,” Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney, recently told The New York Times. “We worked very hard to get them delisted.” But under the broad understanding of the federal ban on “material assistance” to terrorist groups that the Supreme Court upheld in 2010, that work was pretty clearly a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The “material support” statute, 18 USC 2339B, prohibits the provision of “training,” defined as “instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill”; “expert advice or assistance,” defined as “advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge”; “personnel,” which means any person, including oneself, who works under the organization’s “direction or control”; or any other “service,” which is not defined at all. In Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the Supreme Court said the law covers volunteer work aimed at helping listed organizations resolve their grievances through nonviolent means.

While such advice and advocacy would ordinarily be protected by the First Amendment, the court said, “the government’s interest in combating terrorism” justifies the speech restrictions imposed by the ban on material support.

Notably, the Supreme Court refused to read the law as requiring an intent to further a terrorist organization’s illegal activities. As long as someone knows he is assisting a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO), it is no defense to say he only meant to promote its lawful activities. Giuliani, who “worked very hard to get [the MEK] delisted,” obviously knew the group was considered an FTO.

Nor is it necessary that someone providing material support to an FTO receive compensation in return, although Giuliani apparently was paid handsomely for his speeches on behalf of the MEK. According to the court, the difference between protected and prohibited advocacy is not whether money changes hands; it’s whether the advocacy is “performed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization.” By announcing that “my ties to [the MEK] are very open,” then, Giuliani is effectively confessing to a crime.

I am not saying Giuliani should go to prison for his efforts to rehabilitate the MEK. The State Department’s list is arbitrary and shaped by political considerations, the MEK had a strong argument that it should no longer be considered an FTO, and in any case peaceful advocacy of lawful activities should never be treated as a crime. Knowingly providing material assistance to an FTO (which Giuliani did) is not necessarily the same as knowingly providing material assistance to terrorism. For the sake of fairness and freedom of speech, the law’s mens rea requirement should be stronger.

The same goes for 18 USC 793, which Clinton arguably broke by allowing classified information to be removed “from its proper place of custody” through “gross negligence,” a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A conviction under that law should require more than negligence, because it should not be possible to accidentally commit a crime. That is the main reason James Comey gave for declining to recommend charges against Clinton: Although the law does not require criminal intent, justice does.

But Giuliani was not willing to cut Clinton any such slack. As far as he was concerned, she violated the letter of the law, so she should have been prosecuted. It did not matter whether she realized she was breaking the law.

By that same reasoning, Giuliani should be prosecuted for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. It does that matter that he did not view the MEK as a terrorist group; it’s enough that the State Department did. Nor does it matter that he did not intend to promote terrorism, since the law does not include any such mens rea requirement.

If Hillary Clinton belongs in prison, so does Rudy Giuliani.

Jacob Sullum, Newsweek,

Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and a nationally syndicated columnist.

December 1, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Iranophobes on Parade

Will Iran be the target of the Trump regime?

One of the most discouraging aspects of the filling out of the Donald Trump cabinet is the array of Iran haters that seem to be lining up in the foreign policy and national security areas. Trump has been personally advocating sensible policies relating to Russia and Syria but he appears to have gone off the rails regarding Iran, which just might be attributed to those who are giving him advice. A reversion to the relationship that prevailed prior to last year’s signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) between Iran and the so-called P5+1 consisting of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the European Union would be undesirable, to say the least, but that appears to be what is likely to develop. Or it could be even worse, finding bilateral support for “action” as a number of policy advisors in the presidential campaign from both parties were endorsing something like war against the Persians.

The irony is that the argument made then and now for attacking Iran were based on the threat of Tehran deciding to build its own atomic bomb. With the JCPA agreement, however, most would agree that any remaining concerns that Tehran might even be considering the development of a nuclear weapons program were greatly diminished. Iran has since that time been in compliance with the agreement, possible nuclear proliferation has been avoided, and, apart from the fulminations of the inevitable anti-Iranian politicians in the United States, the signatories to the agreement have expressed their satisfaction with the outcome. It has been Washington that has failed to live up to its part of the agreement by easing remaining restrictions that are being imposed against Iranian financial institutions and regarding the purchase of some commercially available dual use technologies.

Candidate Donald Trump did not need much prompting to pick up on the prevailing anti-Iran sentiment. In a number of campaign speeches he denounced the JCPA as a bad deal and vowed to tear it up upon taking office. Some of that sentiment might well have been derived from his desire to distance himself from foreign policy positions promoted by President Barack Obama that were subsequently endorsed by Hillary Clinton so it is no surprise that since being elected he has somewhat modified his stance. He is now veering towards trying to renegotiate the agreement, which would likely be impossible given that it has multiple signatories. He could nevertheless disrupt it by continuing or increasing sanctions on Iran.

The thought of reverting to a state of unrelenting hostility towards Iran is disconcerting. One recalls joint CIA-Mossad operations between 2010 and 2012 that assassinated four civilian scientists connected to the country’s nuclear program as well as the creation of the Stuxnet virus that threatened to spread to other computers worldwide. It is generally accepted that Israel’s Mossad planned and prepared the killing of the scientists with a little help from the U.S., attacks which were almost certainly carried out by associates of the radical Marxist group Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK), which is now being seen favorably by several Trump advisors even though the group is Marxist, cult-like and has killed Americans.

The assassinations were based on the false premise that Iran had a nuclear weapons program that could be disrupted by killing the scientists and technicians involved. Two comprehensive studies by the American government’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted in 2007 and 2011 determined that no such program existed and that Iran had never taken any serious steps to initiate such research. Israel was also aware that there was no program. Nevertheless, the Israeli and American governments took steps to interfere with Iran’s existing and completely legal and open to inspection atomic energy program by identifying then killing its scientists and also introducing viruses into its computer systems. This was in spite of the fact that Iran was fully compliant with international norms on nuclear research and it was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Israel, possessing its own nuclear arsenal, had refused to sign.

The history of the Iran-U.S. relationship is significant because several Trump advisors appear to be locked into a time warp regarding the Mullahs and the threat to Americans that they allegedly constitute. Former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) head Michael Flynn, who will be the Trump National Security Advisor, is the most prominent Iran hater and also the most outspoken.

Flynn, also an unapologetic Islamophobe, has said that Iran represents a danger to U.S. national security and that our friend and ally Israel “lives under the threat of total annihilation from Iran…something the United States must never allow.” He believes that Iran intends to build nuclear weapons as well as the ballistic missiles needed to deliver them on target and thinks that “regime change” is the only solution to the threat posed by the current government. And for Flynn, Iran is not alone, it is part of a “global alliance” that includes China and Russia which seeks to threaten the U.S. and its allies.

Flynn concludes that Iran is unmitigated evil and that Washington should have nothing to do with it, apart from recognizing the reality that it and its government must be destroyed. I personally attended a conference in Moscow last December at which Flynn asserted that Iran is solely responsible for nearly all the instability in the Middle East and is behind at least five wars in the region, an assertion that is just as ridiculous as it sounds.

One might suggest that Flynn is terribly uninformed about a subject regarding which he claims expertise. His comments would suggest that the capabilities of the DIA that he once headed were dangerously overrated, but reports from his former colleagues indicate that he was always guilty of serious overreach in his pronouncements, something they referred to as “Flynn facts”.

If Flynn were just one loud voice braying in the wilderness he would be bad enough since his job is important, particularly with a president who has no foreign policy experience, but the sad fact is that he is not alone. Congressman, West Point grad and former Army officer Mike Pompeo, who will head the CIA, is more-or-less on the same page when it comes to Iran. Her supports new sanctions on the country and, regarding his appointment as Director, he had only one comment to make and it related to the JCPA, “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.” As in the case with Flynn and DIA one has to wonder what kind of “objective” intelligence CIA will be producing under Pompeo.

Finally, there is retired Marine General James Mattis, who is being considered for a senior position in national security, possibly as Secretary of Defense. He is yet another Iranophobe who opposed the JCPA and calls Iran a rogue state that constitutes the “greatest threat” in the Middle East. As part of the evidence for that assessment he cites Iran’s alliance with Syria, which is at least in part directed against America’s enemy number one ISIS, demonstrating once again how Establishment Washington has difficulty in understanding what constitutes actual national interests. Mattis, in fact, denies that Iran is actually fighting ISIS.

The neoconservative kingpin Bill Kristol is gloating, headlining in his Weekly Standard publication that the “Iran Deal Is Doomed!” He should be pleased. Team Trump’s attitude towards an alleged Iranian threat is delusional, more in sync with Kristol and some Israeli thinking than with any actual American interests. Just as neoconservatives always believe that it is 1938 and we are in Munich, Flynn, Pompeo and Mattis likewise seem to think that it is 1979 and the United States Embassy in Tehran is still occupied.

The three Trumpsmen are not stupid, far from it, but the problem appears to be that they cannot comfortably assess two or more conflicting concepts at the same time, which might be due to the linear thinking derived from their military backgrounds. The Middle East is awash with players, all of whom have separate agendas, few of which coincide with actual American interests. If one is fixated on or obsessed with Iran as the sole disruptive force in the region it becomes difficult to see how Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel are also problems. It is decidedly neoconnish to look at a complex foreign policy issue and only see black and white, but that is what the Trump national security team seems to be prone to do.

Hopefully someone will convince Donald Trump that the real answer to eliminating the “Iranian threat” is not war. It requires building on the relationship established by JCPA to bind Iran more closely to the international community, both economically and culturally. By all accounts, young Iranians, a majority of the population, are dismissive of the rigidity of their own government and are very open to Western ideas and lifestyle. Change will come to Iran if the United States and its European allies encourage more rather than less non-threatening contact. It will not come at the point of a bayonet as Flynn, Pompeo and Mattis appear to be promoting.

Philip Giraldi, The Unz Review,

December 1, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

6 Years ago Today: CIA, Mossad and MEK Assassinated Iran’s Top Nuclear Scientist Majid Shahriari

This November 28th is the sixth anniversary of the assassination of leading Iranian nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, whose death represented a particularly disgraceful episode in the attempts made by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service to interfere with and damage Iran’s peaceful nuclear research program. Shahriari, who reportedly had no connection to any possible military applications in his research, was the most prominent of the four Iranian nuclear scientists and technicians who were killed by terrorists between 2010 and 2012. He was a leader in the development of Iran’s atomic power research and development program and was internationally respected for his expertise in quantum physics and neutron transport.

Within the international intelligence community, it has been generally understood that Mossad planned and prepared the killing of Shahriari and the others, attacks which were almost certainly carried out by associates of the radical Marxist group Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK).

The assassinations were based on the false premise that Iran had a nuclear weapons program that could be disrupted by killing the scientists and technicians involved. Two comprehensive studies by the American government’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted in 2007 and 2012 determined that no such program existed and that Iran had never taken any serious steps to initiate such research. Israel was also aware that there was no program. Nevertheless, the Israeli government, sometimes working in collusion with the American CIA, took steps to interfere with Iran’s existing and completely legal and open to inspection atomic energy program by identifying then killing its scientists and introducing viruses into its computer systems. This was in spite of the fact that Iran was fully compliant with international norms on nuclear research and it was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Israel, possessing its own nuclear arsenal, had refused to sign.

As a result of last year’s signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the so-called P5+1 consisting of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the European Union, any remaining concerns that Tehran might even be considering the development of a nuclear weapons program were greatly diminished. Iran has since that time been in compliance with the agreement, possible nuclear proliferation has been avoided, and, apart from the fulminations of certain anti-Iranian politicians in the United States, the signatories to the agreement have expressed their complete satisfaction with the outcome. It is now up to Washington to live up to its part of the agreement by easing remaining restrictions that are being imposed against Iranian financial institutions and regarding the purchase of some commercially available dual use technologies.

But in spite of the relative stability provided by the JCPOA, the meticulously planned and executed death of Shahriari must not be forgotten, if only to remind the world of the ruthlessness which Mossad and other intelligence agencies often pursue their targets even when those they victimize do not really constitute actual threats. Majid Shahriari was killed one morning as he was driving into work in Tehran. He was in a Peugeot that was making its way slowly through the heavy rush hour traffic when a motorcycle pulled up next to him as it weaved its way among the cars. The motorcyclist attached a bomb to the Peugeot’s window before he drove off and detonated the device by remote control from a distance. Shahriari died in the blast and two other occupants of the vehicle were injured. At the same time, another car in another part of Tehran was attacked in the same fashion, though the couple inside realized what was happening and managed to get out. They too were injured.

Majid Shahriari left behind a scientist wife and two young children. It should be observed that even though MEK was the likely perpetrator of the attacks, the technical aspects of the operation were far beyond its limited capabilities. First of all, it was necessary to identify the scientists who were to be targeted, no simple task as the Iranian government and atomic energy agency would have taken steps to restrict such information. Only a major foreign intelligence service would have had the capability to penetrate secure government communications to learn who the scientists were and where they lived, to permit an attack to be planned and executed. Both CIA and Mossad would have had such capability and both are also known to have contact with MEK, a relationship that was and still is particularly close in the case of the Israelis.

After identifying the targets and working out a plan for connecting with them it would have been necessary to engage in extensive surveillance to make sure that the approach and timing would work flawlessly. That would require time, training, and money to support the activity, exactly the sort of thing that a state sponsored intelligence agency would be good at. Then it was necessary to devise the bombs to be used to kill the targets. This was no simple matter in practice because the bombs that were put together were highly sophisticated and designed to kill all the occupants of the vehicle. They were shaped charges that directed the blast into the car and they also incorporated small metal projectiles that would fill the target vehicle with a lethal spray.

Among intelligence agencies Israel has the best deserved reputation for being an organization that favors the use of assassinations, so the suggestion that it was behind the killing of Shahriari and several of his colleagues as well as the attempted assassinations of others fits neatly into the Mossad modus operandi. The United States, also no friend of Iran, almost certainly provided support to other programs like the creation of the Stuxnet virus that crippled Iran’s scientific computers, but would likely balk at the assassination of civilian scientists. Israel would have no such misgivings and has, in fact, killed civilians in all the countries that surround it.

Majid Shahriari certainly should be remembered for his exemplary work as a scientist, but his assassination should also be a reminder that Israel makes up its own rules and its ruthlessness in dealing with its neighbors should be clearly and candidly recognized for what it is.

–

Philip Giraldi is a former CIA Case Officer and Army Intelligence Officer who spent twenty years overseas in Europe and the Middle East working terrorism cases. He holds a BA with honors from the University of Chicago and an MA and PhD in Modern History from the University of London. In addition to TAC, where he has been a contributing editor for nine years, he writes regularly for Antiwar.com. He is currently Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest.

By Philip Giraldi, IRI Center,

December 1, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

The MEK and Its American Fans

Dan Benjamin reviews the history of the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) and its support from many American former officials and politicians:

Even more unsettling was the sheer creepiness of the group. While Maryam Rajavi was presiding over enormous conferences with American political celebrities and seas of smiling, waving people in Paris, at Camp Ashraf, the MeK leadership treated its people appallingly. Visitors, including from the U.N., painted a picture of relentless intimidation, shaming and coercion of the inhabitants by camp leaders [bold mine-DL]. The MeK, which is often described as a cult, had a long history of requiring that its members divorce and remain celibate. Now, it leaders were resolved that the group would remain together and none of the members would be relocated individually or in small groups—the Ashraf group was a bargaining chip that the leadership was cynically using for future leverage.

One of the more troubling things about American MEK supporters is their willingness to whitewash the group’s past as well as its present-day behavior. They aren’t content to work with an avowedly bad group against a common enemy, but feel compelled to pretend that the group is upstanding and noble. At an appearance in Paris last year, Giuliani called the cult leader Maryam Rajavi a “hero,” which either suggests that his understanding of heroism is extremely poor or that he will say anything to get paid.

It is hardly the first time that supporters of regime change in another country have aligned themselves with a disreputable group to pursue their goal, but the sheer dishonesty or credulity required to present a totalitarian cult as a group dedicated to freedom and democracy is nonetheless remarkable. This is perhaps the most insidious part of the MEK boosterism we have seen over the last few years: endorsing their makeover as a “secular, democratic” group and pretending that a group that has virtually no support inside Iran is the country’s “real” opposition. This is not only false, but it also does a real disservice to the Iranian opposition in Iran that wants reform rather than regime change. It also demonstrates contempt for and hostility to the people of Iran, since this same group is responsible for killing so many Iranians when it was serving Saddam Hussein. Above all, it attempts to promote the lie that a policy of regime change is supported by Iranians in order to lend that dangerous and destructive goal the appearance of some legitimacy.

By Daniel Larison,

November 29, 2016 0 comments
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappTelegramSkypeEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts

Recent Posts

  • Pregnancy was taboo in the MEK

    December 22, 2025
  • MEPs who lack awareness about the MEK’s nature

    December 20, 2025
  • Why did Massoud Rajavi enforce divorces in the MEK?

    December 15, 2025
  • Massoud Rajavi and widespread sexual abuse of female members

    December 10, 2025
  • Farman Shafabin, MEK member who committed suicide

    December 3, 2025
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

© 2003 - 2025 NEJAT Society . All Rights Reserved. NejatNGO.org


Back To Top
Nejat Society
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Media
    • Cartoons
    • NewsPics
    • Photo Gallery
    • Videos
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Nejat NewsLetter
    • Pars Brief
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Editions
    • عربي
    • فارسی
    • Shqip