The Parents, wives and children who miss their loved ones in the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MEK, MKO, PMOI, Cult of Rajavi) are probably the most ignored people in the mass media, although their case of human rights violation is one of the most critical ones. Their rights of contacting their loved ones in the MEK have been violated by the MEK leaders for over three decades.
On the other side, the basic rights of those who are in the MEK are violated on daily basis because they do not have access to the outside world. There is no supervision on the cult-like regulations of the group. Being deprived of contacting their loved ones, the MEK members are forced labors, kept in forced celibacy under the strict jargons of a manipulative ideological system under the leadership of Maryam and Masoud Rajavi.
Defectors of the group are living witnesses whose testimonies should be taken serious by the human rights activists.
Bagher Mohammadi is the most recent defector of the MEK who, a few weeks ago, escaped the group to enjoy the rest of his life in free world. He was a soldier of the Iranian army in Iran-Iraq war when he was confined by the MEK forces in 1988. He was taken as a hostage by the group for 32 years. His family has been looking forward for his release during these years.
In the official statement that Bagher published after his defection from the MEK he announced that the group leaders had never informed him about the actions his family had taken in order to visit him.”In those days, my family had come to camp Ashraf several times,”he writes.”My mother and my brother had come but I was never told about them. When I defected the group in Albania I could manage to contact my family and then I got to know that they had tried a lot to visit me in the MEK.”
Bagher is not the first defector of the MEK with such an experience. A large number of former members of the MEK assert that once they were in the group they had no news of their family, even sometimes they were told fake news about their families.
GholamAli Mirzaiee is another defector living in Albania. He was recently interviewed by BBC Persian. The report about the life of Gholam Ali in the MEK prison, shows the scenes of his family in front of Camp Ashraf, Iraq, in 2010.
His wife Fereshteh Mehdian is calling on him holding a board with his name on. Another scene shows Gholam Ali on the MEK’s official TV channel claiming that those who are in front of Ashraf are not his family but the agents of the Iranian Intelligence. However, the BBC had interviewed Fereshteh at the time.”My husband was a war prisoner for ten years and then imprisoned in the MEK for 21 years,”She told reporters.
“MY son was 27 days old when his father went to war and now he is 31. He has not seen his father yet.”When ten years later, Gholam Ali was asked by the BBC reporter why he was denied to visit his wife in 2010, he said,”When I heard my name from the loud speakers in front of Ashraf, I told the authorities that I had heard my name, I thought my family was there but they told me that they were not families they were mercenaries of the Iranian intelligence ministry”.
He is now in contact with his family in Iran. The BBC report shows him video calling with his son.
Farhad Rabiee is the son of Barat Rabiee. Barat is still a captive in the MEK’s camp Ashraf 3 in Manza, Albania. Farhad tried hard to visit his dad in camp Ashraf, Iraq. He was allowed to meet him only once. That only time turned out to be the worse memory of his whole life. In 2003, Farhad and his family went to Camp Ashraf, Iraq to visit his Barat. Farhad was nineteen at the time. In an interview with Mardom TV, he recounts the story of that unpleasant and unforgettable day. As soon as he saw his father, he hugged him but the authorities of the MEK got mad at Barat. He was not permitted to receive his family warmly.”Farhad is the mercenary of the Iranian regime”, the authorities argued.
Farhad recalls the bitter memories of that day. When his father wanted to hug his wife (Farhad’s mother), he was confronted by the group authorities again. Farhad witnessed her mother being physically attacked by female members of the MEK.”That day was the worst memory of my whole life… I saw with my own eyes that my mom’s heart broke, she was standing away weeping tears while MEK members were shouting at her”he says.
To download the video file click here
Kazem Shahidi is the brother of Jassem Shahidi. Jassem has been in the MEK for over 35 years. His family including his elderly mother has never seen him during these years. A few years ago, they went to Camp Ashraf, Iraq but they MEK leaders did not allow them to visit Jassem. Instead, they were attacked by stones or other things thrown from inside the camp.”My mother was harasses [in front of Ashraf] and again we could not contact my brother”, Kazem says. He has recently sent letters and messages to Albanian authorities, human rights bodies and activists asking them to pave the way for families to contact their loved ones in the MEK’s prison-like camp in Albania.
The cases of grieving families of MEK members are countless. They have been making efforts to find a way to contact their children in the MEK. Their calls must be heard. The elderly heartbroken parents should be able to see their beloved children before they die. This is a severe humanitarian issue.
Mazda Parsi