Khodabandeh was interviewed on the sidelines of one of the court sessions: “There are many unsaid words that need to be said somewhere. Regardless of the outcome of the court, these words must be said so that the younger generation, in particular, can understand what happened in this country, what incidents occurred, and where the root of all this lies.”

Regarding the strategy of the MEK, he said: “The MEK’s strategy was to overthrow the Islamic Republic. In the first stage, this strategy was to strike at the top leaders of the government so that a quick overthrow could occur and they could seize power. This strategy failed and was not carried out.”

According to Khodabandeh, the next stage was to strike at the bottom of the government. For example, the IRGC, Basij, the Hezbollahis (supporters of Islamic Republic). In order to run this phase, Massoud Rajavi ordered his forces to assassinate anyone who has a beard (anyone who looked like Hezbollahis!) and anyone who has a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini in his shop.

“We should reach the digit of killing one hundred people a day,” Khodabandeh cites from Rajavi.

However, the second stage also failed because the MEK ranks were widely arrested and punished by the Iranian security forces. Rajavi fled Iran and settled his base in Iraq which was at war with Iran.

“Taking shelter in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s territory, the third stage of their strategy was to form the so-called National Liberation Army, as Saddam’s private army,” he said. “It wanted to gain power by Saddam’s military support.”

Aided by the enemy of Iran, the MEK launched some cross border operations against Iran. The largest operation was Forough Javidan which failed again.

So far, the MEK has had failures in different stages of their struggle to overthrow the Iranian government so they are doing the one thing that they are skillful in: Using violence. Khodabandeh stated: “The incidents that are happening in Iranian protests right now are the same things that were happening in the 1980s.”

Ebrahim Khodabandeh states in his interview: “After Operation Forough Javidan, Massoud Rajavi said that it would be worth it if half of the Iranian people were killed for the organization’s victory and gaining power in Tehran.”

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In part 3 of the interview, Khodabandeh describes the actions taken by Nejat society in order to warn the Albanian government about the presence of the MEK in their country. He suggests that the MEK has built a state in state with its autonomy at Ashraf 3.

According to Khodabandeh the MEK, Nejat Society’s goal is to rescue people: those who are stuck at Ashraf 3, Albania and those youngsters in Iran who are at risk of being manipulated by the MEK fake accounts on social media. He warns about the risk of MEK’s cyber army on the Internet.

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Asked about his activities as a member of the MEK, he explains how he served the group as foreign affairs agent who used to travel across the world. However, he was always under the group’s cult-like monitoring system.

Based on his testimonies, although he was not isolated at Camp Ashraf, Iraq, Khodabandeh was not allowed to visit his family including his daughter who was based in London.
He also told Tehran Times the process that ended with his arrest and extradition to Tehran and eventually his defection from the MEK. The foundation of Nejat Society was one of his achievements after he was released from Evin Prison. He explained about this humanitarian act.

The interview has been published in three parts on Tehran Times website. This is part two.

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Sheida Sabzehvari of Tehran Times introduces Nejat Society as “a Tehran-based entity with offices across Iran and Europe that assists families seeking contact with loved ones in the MEK.”

Presenting a summary of his involvement with the MEK, Khodabandeh tell Tehran Times about the group’s tactics to infiltrate the western governments, to buy the support of certain politicians and to raise funds in European cities. He also speaks of the cult-like attitudes of the group leaders who violate the basic rights of their own members.

The CEO of Nejat NGO explains about the activities of the NGO during the past two decades in order to accomplish its mission which is to aid the families of MEK members who are not allowed by the group leaders to contact their loved ones. According to Khodabandeh, cooperating with the international human rights bodies, Nejat NGO has taken a lot of actions to help families but in most cases the bodies have failed to provide adequate assistance in this regard.

The interview has been published in two parts on Tehran Times website. This is part one.

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Ebrahim Khodabandeh, as a former official of the MEK’s international relations in different countries, took the stand at the court and stated: I was a member of the MEK in the international relations department for 23 years and I have been active in the MEK’s affairs in more than 20 countries.

Khodabandeh further stated that a public meeting was held at the beginning of Massoud Rajavi’s presence in Iraq. “In this meeting, the office of the Islamic Republic Party was discussed and Masoud Rajavi declared that the explosion of the building was an explosion out of the anger of the people! But what did he mean by people? This explosion was the anger of the Mujahedin-e Khalq.” (Khalq means people in Persian.)

He added: “Rajavi announced for the first time in Iraq that the explosion of the office of the Islamic Republic Party was the work of the MEK. In this meeting, Rajavi was proud of the bombing of the office of the Islamic Republic Party.”

Referring to the reasons for the assassination of Ayatollah Beheshti, Khodabandeh clarified that Rajavi believed that Ayatollah Beheshti should be assassinated due to his mastery in international relations, his expertise in English language and his important role in the spread of the Islamic Revolution.According to Nejat Society’s CEO Rajavi used to say that Ayatollah Khomeini is the present and Ayatollah Beheshti is the future of the Islamic Republic and we must destroy the future.
About the cult-like nature of the MEK, Khodabandeh said, “According to Maryam Rajavi, the Mujahid Khalq is someone who firstly knows Masoud’s wishes and secondly, acts on Masoud’s wishes.”

On relations of the MEK and the United States who was once considered as the Imperialist enemy of the group, Khodabandeh addressed the audience in the court, “American Senator John McCain was giving a speech at the MEK’s headquarters in Albania, and when the American flag was shown, the members of the group stood up and clapped.”
Khodabandeh also explained about the current situation of the Cult of Rajavi, “Now the defectors of the MEK are more than the current members and the reason is that people have come to their senses and changed.”

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Ebrahim Khodabande stated in the court: “I accomplished diplomatic missions for the organization in more than 20 countries. We used to hold meetings with Masoud Rajavi in Iraq and Paris. When the explosion of the building of the Islamic Republic Party took place, the organization did claim the responsibility for the bombing. Later, we realized that the reason was not international considerations, but the organization’s internal environment.”

He continued: The organization did not announce who did the attack, even the members of the organization were confused. A year later, in 1961, Massoud Rajavi held a meeting in Paris, where a number of members and supporters of the organization were present, and in that meeting, he clearly announced, ‘we collapsed the ceiling on Beheshti and the members of the Islamic Republic Party, and in this way, we ruined the regime’s future’. Rajavi used to say that Imam Khomeini is the present of the Islamic Republic, but Shahid Beheshti is the future of the Islamic Republic, and in thus he supposed that he had ruined the future of the regime.”

The former agent of MEK international relations stated: “The MEK published the slogan “Death to America” in its publications. The constitution of the MEK’s National Council of Resistance, was first based on fighting against imperialism and helping anti-imperialist movements. One year later, in 1982 the slogan of death to America was removed and the statutes of the National Council of Resistance were changed. Masoud Rajavi held meetings with other members of the group and announced, ‘The reason was that we were confronting America and the enemy We were, because our main conflict was with the Shah and America supported the Shah, and now that the Islamic Republic is one of the few independent countries in the world and has been in complete conflict with America, so we have no reason to be enemies with America and confront it. We are aligned.’”

Nejat Society CEO told the court: “In October 1997, the US State Department listed the MEK as foreign terrorist organization. At that time in Baghdad, Masoud Rajavi held a meeting in Camp Ashraf and said ‘when we did the bombing of June 27th, America did not list us as terrorist, but now that we have not taken up arms for 10 years, it has done so’.”

Ebrahim Khodabandeh further said: “Massoud Rajavi announced in one of the meetings, ‘After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, everyone sought to form a party, but we sought to collect weapons and our infiltrators were everywhere and we influenced wherever we could. Like the impact on Bani Sadr and wherever we could not, we removed people; Like the bombing of June 27th, the explosion of the Islamic Republic Party building.”

He stated: “Kolahi Samadi [the MEK agent who detonated the bomb in the office of Islamic Republic party] came to Iraq after the explosion of the Islamic Republic Party and Masoud Rajavi introduced him to everyone, but after a while there was no news of him and we did not find out where Kolahi went.”

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In these letters, the CEO of Nejat Society wrote:
“Through the former members of the MEK in the Nejat Society of Albania, I found out that in many cases they have been supported by the authorities and received efficient and effective guidance. They have been satisfied and acknowledged that their rights have been fully respected and the right path has always been shown to them. They have always felt secure and supported in their meetings and have gained moral strength.”

It is also stated in these letters that:
“Recently, the members of the Nejat Society of Albania had problems and, in this regard, they asked for help. Then the authorities of the Albanian government intervened and solved their problems, and acted upon the request of the members of the Nejat Society of Albania. According to the reports received from the members of our Society in Albania, they have been helped every time they have approached the authorities of the Albanian government and asked for help.”

In these letters, it is also mentioned that the police officials helped Mr. Bijar Rahimi and Ali Asghar Zamani when they escaped from the MEK camp and introduced themselves to the police station, and the police officials gave them a sense of security and peace, and the effects of the lies of the leaders of the MEK have been neutralized in their minds. When they went to the police station, contrary to their expectations, they found that they were welcomed and they were assured that there would be no threats against them.

Khodabandeh also wrote about the activities of former members in Albania:
“Former members of the MEK in Albania intend to give wider and more serious dimensions to their human rights activities in relation to reaching the demands of the families in close contact with the Nejat Society, and their confidence in the support of the Albanian government authorities has encouraged them.”

Ebrahim Khodabandeh has mentioned in a part of his detailed letters that:
“Regarding the MEK, it should be mentioned that during the past 7 years, I had explained the cultic and anti-human nature of this organization in numerous letters to the Albanian government officials. The MEK has always become a national security problem for the host country. The MEK acts against the highest national interests of the Iranian people, but it has been proven over the years that these actions have always been against the national interests of the host country too.”

At the end of his letters, the CEO of Nejat Society mentioned that:
“The Nejat Society is deeply grateful to the authorities of the Albanian government for these helps and guidance. I hope one day I will be able to express the gratitude of the families and former members to you and your colleagues. I would also like to come to your country and share my decades of experience with the MEK to you, the government and the people of Albania.”

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I am Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the CEO of Nejat Society in Iran. The Nejat Society belongs to the families of the members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO), who are currently based in Albania.

On behalf of the expectant families of the members of the MEK, who have been eager to connect with their loved ones for decades, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Albania and wish you continued success in your new position.

As you surely know, the MEK, after it was expelled from Iraq and no country was willing to accept them, based on the agreement made in 2014 between the then Ministry of Interior of Albania, the then State Department of the United States, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the MEK in Geneva, was moved to Albania based on humanitarian considerations. This transfer was completed in 2016.

At first, these people were supposed to go to other countries as refugees after a period of rehabilitation and a short stay in Albania, but this did not happen, and instead of this, they were able to find their promised paradise, an isolated and remote camp in the outskirts of Manëz, which is twice the size of the city. It is used for isolating the members and disconnect them from the outside world, especially with their families.

During the past seven years, this organization had all kinds of support from the government of Albania, and at its headquarters in Albania, using the unlimited Internet of Albania, it targeted the psychological and physical security of the people of Iran, as well as numerous cases of law and regulation violations, including fraud and money laundering and human and goods trafficking, which were reflected in the media, and even suspicious cases of murder inside the camp were reported.

When the Albanian government, based on its sovereignty and national security interests, after receiving numerous complaints even from other European countries, decided to search this camp on June 20 this year for the first time in 7 years, the operating police forces faced violent countering and attack. Since then, this organization has taken a hostile attitude towards the Albanian government and police in its propaganda and has forgotten all the previous humanitarian support they enjoyed for several years at once.

During these years, a large number of members of the MEK, who no longer wanted to be members of a terrorist organization and denied continuing to experience new slavery, separated from this organization. Some left Albania and some still live in the country. A group of these people formed the Association for the Support of Iranians Living in Albania (ASILA) with the help of a number of Albanian citizens, which is supported by the Nejat Society and Families in Iran.
Unfortunately, in contrast to the freedom of action that the MEK, especially for traveling outside of Albania, the members of this association face all kinds of restrictions. Including the fact that so far, the government of Albania has not given visas to their families to enter Albania, in order to satisfy the wishes of the MEK, and on the other hand, they do not have the possibility of obtaining travel documents to visit their families in a third country.

The MEK violates the most basic human rights of its members, including the right to communicate with the family, and this issue has imposed severe suffering and deprivation on their families for decades, and unfortunately, despite the fact that the families have repeatedly written to the Albanian statesmen and requested to establish this communication, but no attention has been paid.

Recently, on June 30 this year, nearly 700 families gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tehran, which protects the interests of the Albanian government in Iran, and expressed their gratitude for the responsible action of the Albanian government towards the MEK and their demands. They presented themselves to the Turkish Embassy through a ten-point final statement (attached), which requests contact with their loved ones.

Once again, on behalf of the expectant families, I wish you success in your new position and my readiness as someone who has held many responsibilities in this organization for 23 years, especially in the international relations department, to provide any help in any field. I am ready to provide what is needed, especially in order to know more and better about the MEK and the mentality of the leaders and their performance.

Respects
Ebrahim Khodabandeh
CEO of the Nejat Society
July18, 2023

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Prof. Tomoya Obokata
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery

Greetings and Regards
This is Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the CEO of Nejat Society in Iran. Nejat Society belongs to the families of the members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) lead by Maryam Rajavi. The group is now living in a remote and closed camp in Albania isolated from the outside world.
MEK is a mind control destructive cult. They had their bases in Iraq under Saddam Hussein and were active during the Iran-Iraq war on the side of the enemy. Their main base was Ashraf Garrison. They were fully armed and financed and supported by Iraqi Ba’ath Regime.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, many MEK members managed to flee from Ashraf and reported lots of atrocities against the members including physical and mental pressure, solitary confinement, torture, and even execution. Those who tried to escape ended up in Abu-Ghraib prison.
According to the cultic rules and regulations of the MEK, the followings are forbidden inside the cult and the wrongdoers are liable for punishment.

– Marriage and forming a family,
– Trying to leave the cult,
– Criticizing the leader and the cult,
– Contacting the outside world particularity family and friends,
– Having private thoughts and belongings

The MEK moved to Albania in 2016 and they established the same remote and closed camp in Manëz in the province of Durrës, also isolated from the outside world with the same Cultic rules and regulations.
The MEK members are suffering from modern slavery. They have no way out and they have been subject to mind manipulation and brain washing for decades away from society and their families.
The families of these members expect you as a UN official to intervene into the matter via the Albanian government to arrange for the families to have access to their loved ones inside the camp in order to be in touch with them. Some of these families have had no contact with their relatives for decades.
I am anxiously looking forward to hearing from you
Regards
Ebrahim Khodabandeh, CEO of the Nejat Society

P.S.
Some references for further information:
Destructive and Terrorist Cults: A New Kind of Slavery: Leader, Followers, and Mind Manipulation Paperback – September 15, 2014
By Masoud Banisadr (Author), Prof Janja Lalich (Author), & 3 more

The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq
A Policy Conundrum
By RAND, Jeremiah Goulka, Lydia Hansell, Elizabeth Wilke, Judith Larson
https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG871.html

No Exit
Human Rights Abuses inside the Mojahedin Khalq Camps
By Human Rights Watch (HRW), May 2005
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/

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I am Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the CEO of the Nejat Society in Iran. Nejat Society belongs to families whose loved ones are trapped in the isolated and remote camp of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization in Albania, and for decades they have not been able to have any contact with them. I do not have any government position and the activity of the Nejat Society is only humanitarian and in line with fulfilling the wishes of the families and is not related to the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the many meetings that I have had with these families in different cities of Iran, questions have been raised by them that are related to the issue of “Albanian national sovereignty”. Below, I am addressing these questions to the honorable statesmen of the Republic of Albania, so that maybe if it is considered appropriate, I will receive an answer from whoever is concerned.

The MEK was brought to Iraq from France during the rule of Saddam Hussein to be used during the war with Iran. The active cooperation of this organization with the enemy invading the country, against the border guards and defenders of the homeland, caused this organization to be highly hated among the people of Iran, and even among the hardest opponents of the Islamic Republic.

When Saddam Hussein was overthrown in Iraq, the presence of the MEK in that country became a threat to national security. Iraqi governments one after another wanted this organization to leave Iraq, but the MEK resisted, until in 2016, they settled in Albania, with the same cultic form, in an isolated and remote camp.

The claim of the Albanian government is that this organization was accepted in the territory of Albania for humanitarian reasons and was prohibited from any political and propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Based on the testimony of many people who left this group and now live inside and outside of Albania, as well as based on the propaganda media of the MEK, during these years, this organization has been systematically engaged in the following matters from the territory of Albania and from its headquarters:

– Violation of the most basic human rights of the members inside the camp, especially banning contact with family, and depriving them of any freedom and authority

– Cyber activities against the mental security of the Iranian people from inside the camp using the facilities of the Albanian internet services with thousands of fake accounts and also hacking the internal systems of Iran.

– Directing the so-called rebel centers inside the country from inside the camp, in the so-called internal headquarters, for harmful and terrorist actions and financing them.

Now, the main question is, does the Albanian government have enough knowledge of the actions of this group in their camp and its internet activities from Albanian soil? Definitely, the security system of Albania has monitored the media of this organization and talked to its former members many times and is aware of the nature of the matter. Does the Albanian government not consider it necessary to have more control over the activities of this group inside the camp?

The families ask whether measures such as the following have been taken with the initiative of the Albanian government and security system, or have the requests of the MEK been met?

– Imprisonment of Mr. Ehsan Bidi in the Karrec camp for two and a half years without presenting any charges, and once his illegal deportation to Greece and then his illegal deportation to Iran against all standards of refugee rights, so that now he is in custody and is awaiting trial in Iran

– Undeserved search of the building of the Association for the Support of Iranians Living in Albania (ASILA) and the houses of its members and confiscating their money and devices and a one-day interrogation of them, which did not find any illegal cases, and subsequently, a propaganda controversy against ASILA in the media.

– Preventing the entry of two German citizens of Iranian origin who were invited to participate in the wedding party of Mr. Gholamreza Shekari without providing any reason

– Preventing the visit of the Canadian family as well as the Swedish family and other families to visit their loved ones in the MEK camp in Albania and misbehaving with them, including threats and confiscation of phones.

– The illegal deportation of Mr. Hasan Heirani, who has an Albanian wife, to Greece, against all standards of refugee rights, after being imprisoned for several months in Karrec without being charged, and his wife being impeached when leaving the border to Greece.
– The illegal deportation of Mr. Gholamreza Shekari, who has an Albanian wife, to Greece, against all standards of refugee rights, after being imprisoned for several months in Karrec without being charged, he was beaten by the Greek police and returned to Albania, who is still locked up in Karrec for no reason.

– Imprisonment of Mr. Ali Hajari, whose child was recently born (he was of course released lately), Mehdi Soleimani, who has an Albanian wife, and Hassan Shahbaz, for more than six months in the Karrec camp, without their crimes being determined and in pure uncertainty.

All these cases and other cases, from the point of view of the families, have only provided the wishes of the Rajavi terrorist cult. While the members of the MEK freely leave and return to Albania in large numbers, the members of ASILA do not even have an identity card and are not allowed to open a bank account or get a work permit, and they have not been given travel documents, which at least if their families are not allow to enter Albania and visit, they can visit their families in a third country.

Has the Albanian government lost its right to national sovereignty against the MEK and Maryam Rajavi? Has a government been formed within the government just like the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq? Is the Albanian government, for the wish of the MEK, refusing from issuing visas to Iranians, especially families? Has the Albanian government thought about the consequences of this, which is, leaving the hands of the MEK open for any illegal action and yielding to its demands, which can become a threat to national security in Europe?

Recently, I wrote a message addressed to the Albanian statesmen and I mentioned some points that I am attaching a copy of it to this one. I have nothing to do with political issues and the problems of relations between Iran and Albania. I am speaking on behalf of families, whose most basic human rights, the right to communicate with their loved ones, have been violated. Since the MEK is based in Albania, the Albanian government is and will be responsible for all the behavior and performance of this organization.

Ebrahim Khodabandeh
CEO of Najat Society

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