Bijar Rahimi was recruited by the MEK shortly before the coalition forces’ invasion to Iraq. In a letter he wrote to the International Red Cross after leaving the MEK, he described his past as follows: “I left Iran 22 years ago with the promise and deception of the MEK to go to Europe to find a better job and improve life through Pakistan border but I was taken to Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, Iraq. I joined the organization one month before the invasion by the coalition forces in 2003. After the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the disarmament of the MEK by the United States, I was told that it was not possible to go to Europe. Then I and many other people who came with the same promise were faced with this trick that if we returned to Iran, we would be imprisoned, tortured and executed. Under the pressure of meetings and brainwashing techniques, despite our inner desire, we were forced to stay in the organization.”

Both Bijar and his brother Sarfaraz were caught in the trick of MEK recruiters. Sarfaraz managed to leave the group after the relocation of the group in Albania, but Bijar remained under the mental pressure of the destructive Cult of Rajavi. “The leaders of the Cult of Rajavi deceived me and forced me to stay in the organization by brainwashing and taking an oath, and they wasted 21 years of my life without any salary or savings, without the right to call and communicate with my family, without having a family, and with illness and mental and physical problems.”

Even since he was in Iraq, Bijar wanted to leave the MEK. In his testimonies, he states that in 2016, when he was living in Camp Liberty in Iraq, his asylum case was successfully submitted by Norway through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. But the officials of the MEK dissuaded him from becoming a refugee to Norway and forced him to stay in the organization.

Leaving the MEK thanks to the power of the media

While Bijar was trapped in the MEK’s camp in Manz village in the north of Tirana, his brother, Sarfraz Rahimi, married an Albanian girl named Erisa Edrisi and had a family. Unlike many members of the MEK, whose families are trying to visit them from Iran, Sarfaraz lived a few kilometers away from Bijar in the city of Tirana. His efforts to meet Bijar had been faced with obstacles from the leaders of the MEK. He and his wife wanted their son Ermolindo to meet his uncle Bijar, and this double motivation led them to cooperate with Nejat Society in Iran and to establish Nejat Society Albania.

Since the early days of her marriage with Sarfaraz, Erisa Rahimi was in contact with members of the MEK who were friends of her husband. She, who is the head of Nejat society Albania today, said in his recent interview with News 24 of Albania about her motivation to cooperate with Nejat Society: “Because I was a Persian translator for Iranians, I got to know their pain and suffering inside the MEK so I made a promise to myself, to help them. As a translator, I was with them to go to the doctor and get a residence permit and rent a house, etc. I was very happy when Nejat Society Albania was formed with the help of the Nejat Society Iran because I could better support people in the society. The important task of our association is to help families inside Iran to free their children from the captivity of the MEK.”

The humanitarian and cultural activities of Nejat Society Albania to support MEK defectors, helping to integrate them into the Albanian society and enlightening about the nature of the Cult of Rajavi and its threats to the Albanian society, made Erisa and Sarfraz as activists of the society, to be noticed by the Albanian media. The result of several media appearances of the brother and his wife in the Albanian media was that Bijar became aware of his brother’s health and freedom, despite the lies that his commanders had told him.
In an interview with Bijar, Sarfaraz and Erisa by Euronews Albania, in March 2024, Bijar described the story of his escape from the MEK as follows: “I am fortunate that with the help of Euronews after the attack of the Albanian police on Ashraf 3, I saw Sarfraz and in this way, I got hope and was able to escape. I am very happy now that in addition to being here in Albania, I can contact my other family members in Iran whenever I want, as well as my friends in Europe and anywhere in the world.”

Bijar’s story motivates both media activists and Nejat Society

Aldo Sollulari, a journalist who became acquainted with the Nejat Society Albania and its activities through his career, is today the media manager of the Society and works there along with several other Albanian citizens. In a recent interview with the Albanian News 24, when his couleague asked about the most impressive story of MEK defectors in Albania, he mentioned the story of Bijar and Sarfraz Rahimi. After the Albanian police entered Camp Ashraf 3, Bijar saw the interview that Aldo Solulari had conducted with Sarfaraz and Erisa on News 24. The Interview made Bijar realize that the MEK’s propaganda about his brother was a lie and that his brother is outside the organization, not so far away waiting to see him.
Bijar got a visa (an exit permit by MEK commanders) to leave Camp Manz under the pretext of shopping, and soon after leaving, he submited himself to the Albanian police. He was reunited with his brother’s family with the legal protection of the Albanian police and today enjoys the individual freedoms of a free citizen.

Bijar’s story has some similarities with the stories of some other former members of the MEK. There are other people who, using the negligence of the commanders of the MEK and the opportunity to access the Internet and the media, got the spark in their minds to leave the cult. The most recent example was reported in the Le Monde newspaper’s interview with Mohammadreza Torabi, a former child soldier. In this interview, he admits that the first doubts about Massoud Rajavi’s ideology arose in his mind when he got access to the Internet in Tirana and came across an article on Nejat Society’s website, written by Alireza Mirasgari, about the deliberate murder of his father under the torture of MEK interrogators.

Humanitarian mission of Nejat Society

Thus, we see that the activities of Nejat Society, both in Iran and in Albania, can be effective in destroying the mental bars around the Cult of rajavi, in case of proper media coverage. Media reflection is not only useful in enlightening the public opinion, but it is a narrow but possible way to penetrate the minds of the members trapped behind the mental and physical bars of the cult.

Regardless of any political or religious bias, the mission of the Nejat Society is humanitarian and its goal is to facilitate the communication of families with their loved ones imprisoned in the personality cult of Masoud and Maryam Rajavi. For the activists of the Nejat Society, the release of each person from the destructive cult of Rajavi brings lots of pleasant feelings of success and happiness.

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In interviews and various public appearances, many situations have been shown that go beyond our reality as a country that aims to have western and qualitative standards in social welfare and the word family.

But in some cults, the word family means “crime” or violation of interests. Here we are talking about interests that affect the feelings and hearts of thousands of families. Iran as a developed country, with a formed infrastructure, and a very large population, suffered an emotional crisis caused by just a fraud.

Bijar Rahimi tells the story of his life

Some scams just cost some money, some scams cost causing the loss of something of monetary value, but it is not justifiable that the scam could cause the loss of the divine family relationship. The MEK did this trick by asking its members not to communicate with their families, since according to them, this could be a threat to their cause, which was never understood what cause it had, more than the interests of the superiors to this organization.

Like many of the stories, we have seen that they appeared in the public and most popular national media, some former members of this camp, who recently for several years have been able to live freely and create their families here, where one of them is Mr. Sarfaraz Rahimi, who, together with me, managed to bring out many truths in the media where many of the Albanian people understood that the Iranians who came to Albania came to live a different reality and to see the sun outside the bars of Camp Ashraf, but something else was promised.

Recently, Mr. Rahimi’s brother, Mr. Bijar Rahimi, was with me in his first media interview, on CTV, where he spoke a lot about his life retrospective, and said that if he could turn back time, he would not made that choice. He would not want that life. With more emotion and pain, I show what it means to live inside the MEK camp and the challenges and hardships that accompanied it. For these and more, follow his interviews in the media. I invite you to follow.

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Bijar Rahimi joined the Association for the Support of Iranians Living in Albania (ASILA) after his defection. His brother Sarfaraz Rahimi, also defector of the MEK and his Albanian wife Erisa have been active members of ASILA since its foundation.

After his defection from the Cult of Rajavi, Bijar attended a conference titled “Voice of Mothers”, held by ASILA at Hotel Doro City, Tirana. He was one of the main speakers of the event. The audience were impressed by his heart-breaking memoirs of living in the MEK cult-like atmosphere.

Bijar Rahimi considers family as the main reason for his defection. “In the MEK, thinking of your family is forbidden,” he says. “If you think of your family you have to confess it in the daily self-criticism meetings.”

When the MEK was in Iraq, Sarfaraz and Bijar’s little brother went to Camp Ashraf, Iraq and asked for visiting him. The group leaders did not allow Bijar to meet his brother. “I could hear my brother calling my name, but I was not allowed to go and hug him.”

During the 21 years of imprisonment in Massoud Rajavi’s cult of personality, Bijar never could contact his family. “My mother, my father and two of my older brothers died in those years and I never forgive myself for my absence during their last days of life,” Bijar says with tears in his eyes.

The tragic story kept on when the MEK was transferred to Albania and Bijar’s brother, Sarfaraz, could manage to leave the group and build a normal life in Albania. “My brother left the group, got married to Erisa but the MEK leaders did not allow me to attend their wedding party while they were only a few kilometers away.”

He asked the group leaders to let him visit his brother but each time his request was declined. Today, he lives with his brother and his little family. He can hug his nephew, Ermolindo. “In the MEK the Internet and smart phones were forbidden,” he says with a smile on his face. “I do not know how to use a smart phone, my six-year-old nephew is teaching me!”

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Greetings and regards
I am Bijar Rahimi, a former member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK). I escaped from the organization’s camp on July 21, 2023, and on the same day, I approached the police station and introduced myself and announced that I do not wish to return to the camp and I want to join ASILA.

First of all, I have to thank the very good and reassuring assistance and treatment of the police, who, considering the fact that I had a lot of fear, assured me that I will be completely safe, and what the MEK said about ASILA and Nejat Society, and the conditions of outside the camp and the behavior of the Albanian police are completely false.

The idea of leaving the organization, which was already in my head, got stronger ever since my brother Sarfaraz Rahimi left the MEK. When the organization told me that I don’t have the right to contact and meet my brother and my brother’s wife, I decided to run away and I was always looking for an opportunity. They informed me that my brother had joined ASILA, and because of this, the organization was pressuring me and deploring me. When I went out, they watched me closely and rarely allowed me to leave the headquarters.
During the violent attack on ASILA’s book booth at a book fair in Durres, they told me that they had beaten my brother and his wife, which made me very upset and worried, and of course they proudly showed me the film. They claimed that after the arrest of 11 members in this regard, they were all released unconditionally, and they claimed that the police is fully cooperating with them and is against the former members.

I was trying to be able to see my brother Sarfaraz Rahimi at least once while traveling to Tirana. I was informed that he is married and has a son. They told me these things within the organization as my brother’s mistakes and crimes, and they blamed me and asked me why I wanted to see him. But I was extremely eager to hug my nephew.
On June 20, 2023, police officers came to our camp for inspection with prior notice. Just half an hour before the police came, all the members were told to leave their workplaces because the police wanted to come to Ashraf and search. We were all surprised as to why the police had entered the headquarters with this amount of force for inspection. We were always told that the Albanian police are always there for us. No one expected such a visit from the police.

All the members were in shock because they did not expect such an action from the police. The police had come several times before to check, but they came with one or two cars, did a superficial check and left. This was the idea of the authorities at first, but this time they came with a large and unbelievable number, which was new for the organization.
At first there was no problem and the search was going smoothly and it was assumed that they would leave soon. But as soon as they went to the computers, there was an order from the authorities that they should not let them take the computers at any cost. The people from whom the computers were taken were ordered by the commanders to resist and not allow the computers to be taken anyway. At this time, some members started to break and destroy the computers. Some attacked the police and tried to take the computers from them, and some even lied down in front of the police car to prevent the cars from moving to take the computers, which finally faced the reaction of the police force after several policemen were injured.

After this incident, I was inside the organization for a month and I would like to briefly let you know what happened in this one month:
The activities of the MEK were already completely focused on the interior of the country, which recruited the people inside the country through cyberspace. They were guided either as a team in the form of rebel centers or individually, through a very wide and unlimited internet connection from Albania. They encouraged and trained them to carry out propaganda and harmful and if possible, terrorist activities, and also send them money.

After the arrival of the police and the conflict that occurred, the internet of the headquarters was completely cut off for three days, which was said to be because the servers had a problem, but some said that the Albanian government had cut off the internet of the camp. After three days, the internet was established again, albeit weaker than before, which some said was taken via satellite internet. Because the organization did not want to stop working inside the country, it had made the communication in shifts during the day and night so that people could communicate with their teams inside Iran. Different sections were working with the internet 24 hours a day in turn, and the MEK’s TV broadcast reports, videos and news about the activities of the rebel groups every night in the news.

A public meeting was held by Zahra Merrikhi, the first secretary of the MEK, sometime after the release of the statement of the US Department of State, which supported Albania’s action regarding the MEK. After that, a number of online meetings were held by Maryam Rajavi, which was related to the Paris meeting. Maryam, who had already left Albania for France with a number of MEK officials, did not take any position in this regard. Later, a written message was given by Massoud Rajavi, the ideological leader of the MEK, which was read to the people.

In a public meeting for all members, Zahra Merrikhi spoke about the “brutal attack” by the “Albanian fascist police” and condemned American officials for issuing a statement from the US Department of State. Zahra Merrikhi held this meeting to encourage the members and to bring them out of despair. She pointed out that what the police took was of no importance. She said that the MEK has many influential supporters at the world level, and the Albanian police and judicial system cannot do a damn thing against us.
After three days, all work started with the same order as before. People were told to be strictly and fully engaged in affairs inside Iran and were assured that this matter, i.e., the visit of the police, would not happen again. For a while, a superficial inspection of the entry and exit of cars at the gate was carried out by the police, which was stopped later.
Also, after this incident, going outside the camp was prohibited for two days. On the third day, only people who had specialized medical appointments went to Tirana. From the fourth day, the routine returned to before the incident and people were moving outside and everything was the same as before.

Massoud Rajavi’s message was given after the change of the Minister of Interior of Albania, which was read in every headquarters. He pretended as if he had a role in this alteration. He said that the new interior minister of Albania in the government of Edi Rama is a close friend of the MEK, and in the past he visited the Ashraf 3 base in Albania and the museum, and he also met and talked with the MEK in the United States.

Massoud Rajavi added that: “you have experienced 14 years of stability in Ashraf and Liberty with the revolution of Maryam and your organization, and now you must be prepared for any conspiracy with the revolution, internship, war and battle with the enemy”. He called the action of the police a conspiracy against the MEK and condemned it.
Regarding the departure of Maryam Rajavi and a large number of her companions to France, it was mentioned in Massoud Rajavi’s message that: “I took a risk by sending Maryam to the meeting in Paris and I accepted this risk.” There are many people who are constantly commuting outside of Albania. These people also went with Maryam Rajavi.

The atmosphere of problems and requests to leave the MEK is increasing day by day, but after this incident, problems took a wider dimension. Many wanted to separate and leave. The organization threatened them that if they leave, they will be caught by the police who will mistreat them and take them to Karrec camp like ASILA members and they will have a hard life. The organization promised people who wanted to leave that it would take them to Greece or Germany.

The organization’s fear is that people will leave and then join ASILA, which is supported by the Nejat Society. When ASILA’s villa was searched by the police and their computers and mobile phones were seized, the organization celebrated and declared that being the end of ASILA. When six members of ASILA were taken to Karrec camp, the organization made a lot of propaganda to scare people, and it made a lot of maneuvers on deportation of Hasan Heirani to Greece and Ehsan Bidi to Iran. These police actions against ASILA made many people who could have left the organization and joined ASILA to give up, and this was a great help to the organization. We had believed that the Albanian police were all supporters of the MEK and against ASILA and former members.
They brainwash the members inside the organization. All the words of the officials are to give hope to the members to stay in the camp. They advertise against the families so much that some members consider the family as their main enemy. Massoud Rajavi is a scheming man who has hysterical antagonism with the families of the members. He considers families to be in conflict with his personal interests. The organization is very afraid of the families of the members coming to Albania because it will create a point of hope for the members.

Now there are people inside the camp who do not follow the rules as the organization wants and this is quite evident. For example, there are people who do not welcome revolutionary meetings at all and do not participate in revolutionary training committees and revolutionary semesters and do not read any reports about themselves. Or they don’t participate in Maryam Rajavi’s meetings that were online, especially internal meetings. Or they don’t pay attention to the rule of wearing official clothes in public meetings and participate in normal clothes. Or if they come to the meeting, they constantly go outside the meeting and talk to each other and spend time. They tried not to put pressure on these people because it was possible for them to escape.
Regarding the internal work, each section followed a specific province. My province, “Sistan and Baluchestan”, was also on the agenda. Several of them were responsible for recruitment in cyberspace and if a person was recruited, they would work on that person. They mostly used to set fire to government and administrative places, install placards, write slogans, and fill anti-Iran clips. These actions were performed by local forces all over Iran. These activities were called breaking the suffocation.

When an individual was recruited and then the person did some work and became trustworthy, that person was given the necessary training and this person entered the rebel centers. Those who are not reliable or who do not participate in activities were never included in the rebel centers and these people were only fed politically and they were used to take information and money for others.
Currently, all the sections inside the Ashraf 3 camp in Albania, except the facilities, kitchen, and administrative sections, are doing internal work (guiding the rebel centers inside the country). If there was a plan of a rebel center to set fire to a place, the person in charge of that center in Ashraf 3 should have sat behind his computer and directed the work until the end of the work and taking photos and videos and a complete report.

Many people inside the camp want to escape. They need support. Many want to contact their families, but the organization prevents them. The Albanian government should act in this regard and help those who want to separate. I request you to talk to these people and assure them like me that they will be safe outside the organization. I can give you their names. I will also be happy if I can help to free my other captive friends.

Also, the organization is extremely afraid of the presence of families in Tirana, especially behind the gates of Ashraf 3. The reason is that they know that if the family feelings revive in them and the effects of brainwashing disappear, they will hope for a life outside the cult and they will separate from the organization. I request you to give visas to the families to enter the country and closely follow the fate of their loved ones.

I do thank you in advance for paying attention
Regards,
Bijar Rahimi
Tirana – August 5, 2023

ASILA’s statement regarding my separation, as well as the declaration of separation that I have written in this regard, are attached to this letter.

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Bijar is from, Iranshahr, Sistan Baloochestan, Iran. He was 41 when an MEK’s smuggler promised to take him to Europe to have a high-income job. He trusted the MEK’s recruiter and eventually he was trafficked across Pakistan border, and he was then taken to Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

“At Baghdad airport, I was received by two Iranians,” Bijar recounts his story. “They drove me to a place where everyone was wearing military uniform.”
In response to his question about the location, he was told that it was the MEK’s headquarters: Camp Ashraf! “I asked if I would be taken to Europe from there and they answered that I had to stay there for a while waiting to be informed about when and how to be transferred to Europe,” he recalls.

Bijar was given a military uniform and forced to stay in the entrance unit of Camp Ashraf where he saw a large number of people who had been taken there with the promise of immigration to Europe and lucrative career, too.

During the first months, Bijar was still pursuing the issue of going to Europe. Once he was told that the French Police had raided the MEK’s base in Paris and had arrested Maryam Rajavi. “They told us that going to Europe is impossible”, he says.

After the US invasion to Iraq, the country was insecure, they had to stay in Camp Ashraf under the cult-like ruling of Massoud Rajavi. He was under the group’s manipulation system for 21 years. He was not allowed to contact his family during those years. “They would clearly say that the main enemy of a Mujahed-e Khalq is his or her family,” Bijar Rahimi testifies.

His family went to Camp Ashraf to visit Bijar but they were not allowed to meet him. The MEK leaders never told Bijar about that. “I just know about that after I left the group,” he says.

After the MEK’s relocation in Albania, the brainwashing system of the MEK kept on working, isolating members from the free world. “Ideological meetings, reporting on peers, self-criticism sessions and psychological suppression still continued in Albania,” Bijar states. “I just wanted to get rid of the pressure and to make the dream of contacting my family come true, so I decided to escape the group.”

Despite the lies fabricated by the MEK leaders about the Albanian Police and the Association for the Support of Iranians Living in Canada (ASILA), Bijar surrendered to the Police and then he was welcome by ASILA.

“My escape from the MEK was like running out to the darkness,” he says. “Despite my fears I was assured by ASILA and Nejat Society that what the MEK leaders say about them is pure lie.”

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ASILA would like to appreciate the support of the Nejat Society and Families, especially Mr. Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the respected CEO of the society, in helping to rescue Mr. Bijar Rahimi. It is also necessary to thank the cooperation of the Albanian police for guaranteeing the security of the former members, including Mr. Bijar Rahimi.
Hoping for the release of other captives under the clutches of the Rajavi Cult.
Tirana, July 30, 2023

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Immediately after his release, Bijar Rahimi joined ASILA. Publishing a statement, ASILA congratulates Bijar’s family and other families of Nejat Society on his salvation from the destructive Cult of Rajavi.

ASILA also appreciates the cooperation of the Albanian state Police to provide security for defectors of the MEK including Bijar Rahimi.

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