Home » Iran Interlink Weekly Digest » Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 297

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 297

MEK Members Given ID Cards

weekly digest

++ In the run up to the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow at the end of October, former MEP and MEK advocate Struan Stevenson has been busy publishing his demand that Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi be arrested on arrival in Scotland. Now Stevenson is claiming that he has actually stopped Raisi from attending the Conference for fear of arrest. This remarkable achievement started with spreading stories from ‘sources from inside Iran’ saying that Raisi had been invited to the Conference. This information was not published anywhere in public in Iran and it is unlikely that Stevenson has access to the offices of the president of Iran, so how he could know about this invitation is anyone’s guess. After dropping this information into their publications, the MEK and Stevenson threaded together a narrative which focused on alleged crimes committed by Raisi as a judge thirty years ago, and the demand for his arrest. According to Stevenson, this has frightened Raisi so much that he has refused to come. This prompted ridicule on Farsi social media. The man who used to work for Saddam Hussein and the MEK has come to the low point that he is farting and laughing at it himself.

++ In Albania, journalist Gjergji Thanasi has written about the family of Hassan Heyrani in Iran. His parents have applied for visas to Albania so they can see the son they have not met with for 25 years. They explain how the MEK prevented Hassan from contacting them. But now he is living freely they should be able to visit. The MEK are trying behind the scenes with the corrupt Albanian government officials to prevent them getting visas. Thanasi is adamant that he will do all he can to make sure they are able to visit.

++ A spokesman for the judiciary in Iran has talked about the court case involving former members of the MEK demanding compensation from the leaders for their suffering. The spokesman announced that the fine and compensation amount has been issued. The verdict has now been passed by the foreign office to the countries that support and harbour this group, requesting that they hand over the guilty people and ensure they pay the money.

++ In Albania, the issuing of ID cards to all non-Albanians has started. Officials have entered the camp and one by one are taking fingerprints and identity details from each resident. The MEK and its backers are desperate to stop this, but it seems they can’t do much as this is a blanket issue covering everyone who is a foreign national in the country. If Albania wants to join the EU they have to go ahead with this. What the MEK is really afraid of is not the former members getting ID cards, but the issue of ID cards to current members. Once they have this documentation half the members will leave.

++ This week and last week, Iran was shining in wrestling, football and other sports. The MEK completely ignored the existence of sport in Iran this week. Some commentators reacted saying that Maryam Rajavi sent congratulations to the football teams of Iraq, Brazil and elsewhere but totally ignored Iran. This, they say, reminds us that they and other anti-Iran agents have been lobbying for sanctions on Iranian sports, which has failed.

In English:

++ Anne Khodabandeh wrote how the MEK has evolved ‘From Fanatical Terrorists to Fanatical Followers’. According to Khodabandeh, the MEK is fading into obscurity. It’s place – causing trouble between the US and Iran – is disappearing since the new Iranian president prefers to look East in pursuit of Iran’s national interests. The MEK is not mentioned in current discourse on Iran and Iranian issues, including the Swedish court case. Even though this is essentially an MEK event, both Struan Stevenson and Iran International fail to mention the group in their public stances. Ironically, as Iran has emerged victorious in several sporting fields in recent weeks, Maryam Rajavi herself cannot speak about Iran. Khodabandeh identified Rajavi’s move to shift control of the MEK to her daughter and niece as evidence that she is prepared to use their status as French citizens to take control of the vast personal wealth she inherited from her husband Massoud from Paris. She cannot travel to Auvers-sur-Oise, but her daughter and niece can. Without a meaningful role, the remaining members in Albania will become more and more a burden to the MEK’s backers. Neglect will mean the MEK will fade to become a cult of fanatical followers without a struggle.

October 16 2021

You may also like

Leave a Comment