Issa kept his eyes on the floor as we started talking. It was hard to read him at all. He seemed like a jumble of things: anxious, numb, angry, regretful… but then you’d see a flicker of hope in there somewhere. Before delving into his experiences with the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), a terrorist organization known for its dogmatic indoctrination and isolated, tightly controlled environment, he said he wanted people everywhere to understand how dangerous the MEK really is, both for those who join and for the world beyond its walls.

“When I entered the MEK I was highly educated,” he explained. “I was a university graduate, and I had a family, job, and social connections. But after my involvement with the organization all that was lost. There, Masoud Rajavi tried to reduce the members to nothing, devoid of character, dignity, and honor.”

Introduced to the MEK after the 1979 Islamic Revolution while studying engineering at a prominent Tehran university, Issa joined the organization under the influence of a friend and became a high-ranking member over a 38-year period. He spent two decades at Camp Ashraf in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran, until its dismantling in 2003 by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. After the camp’s closure, Issa, along with other MEK members, moved to Camp Liberty near Baghdad. He ultimately left the MEK before its relocation to Albania in 2016.

Issa says almost every single day he spent with the MEK was tiring, humiliating, and dehumanizing.
“We would all wake up at 5 a.m. to the sound of a shrill wind instrument. It was incredibly jarring. We had about 20 minutes to get ready and eat breakfast. Then, our exhausting day began. We had to clean the area, guard the camp, and carry out missions outside. Our only entertainment was watching the group’s propaganda on TV for two 30-minute segments.” The TV remote was kept locked in a box; a precaution that seemed unnecessary. After all, only the person responsible for the TV schedule knew how to use it.

Issa said the most difficult part of the day was the joint self-criticism sessions. “One of the biggest taboos was having sexual thoughts. We were forced to dissect our feelings, describe our fantasies in detail, and express repeated regret. Then, the others would join in, and one by one start scolding us too.”

Forced divorces followed by forced marriages

Typical of leaders like Rajavi, the man was obsessed with sex. Initially, he ordered some members of the organization to marry each other. However, after realizing that marriage and family preoccupied the minds of those he considered his devoted followers, he decreed that everyone should divorce. Rajavi later declared that all women in the group had become his wives, a claim substantiated by former female members of the MEK who reported frequent sexual abuse and exploitation orchestrated by Rajavi himself.

“The divorce process the members were forced to endure was one of the most inhumane and unbelievable events imaginable,” Issa stated. He had not taken his wife and kids with him to the camp, but he was still required to divorce his wife in his mind. “Couples within the organization were made to stand facing each other and then ordered to hurl vile profanities at one another.” Reflecting Iranian cultural norms, where men typically avoid cursing in front of women, Issa declined to repeat the exact words for me. “Even those who were not married, either within or outside the organization, were ordered to undergo a ‘mental divorce.'”

Soon after, strict segregation was enforced. Men and women were required to use separate routes within the camp to minimize contact. “There was a gas station inside the Ashraf camp where we refueled the vehicles used for patrols. We were not even allowed to visit the gas station on the same day,” Issa revealed.

The mass “marriage” of MEK women to Rajavi occurred sometime after contact between men and women was cut off. Rajavi’s own wife, Maryam Qajar-Azdanlu – having herself divorced Rajavi’s friend to then become Rajavi’s wife after a scandalous affair – was the key figure in manipulating the other women into accepting their “sacred” duty: sexual submission to their leader.

“I didn’t know this was happening when I was still part of the organization, because I rarely spoke to the women there. Also, there’s often a great deal of shame involved in admitting to being sexually assaulted. When a former female member of the MEK publicly broke the news a few years ago, it was very difficult for me to process, even though I had always known that Rajavi was a perverted and corrupt individual.”

The Taliban and Daesh were less oppressive towards women than the MEK, Issa said. While no one within the organization enjoyed rights or privacy, women were treated as particularly disposable.
“People often ask individuals like me why we didn’t leave the organization sooner,” Issa said as he looked at me with a bitter smile. “To those observing the MEK from the outside, it’s crucial to understand the complete loss of self that occurs within its walls. You are forced to abandon your identity, to erase your past and all those you once cherished. Inside, Masoud Rajavi’s orders become your only reality.”

Children that were killed, trafficked, or indoctrinated

In 1990, Rajavi took another crucial step to subjugate MEK members: He ripped kids away from their parents. These kids lived in separate compounds near their parents’ headquarters in Iraq.
“There were about 700, all different ages. They were just put on buses and shipped off to Jordan,” Issa said. What followed was a tragedy. Some never made it, some were exploited by human traffickers, others became entangled in crime, and some ended up in brothels. Roughly 300 were left, either sent to distant relatives or relegated to MEK-owned housing in Europe.
Years later, some of those kids, who’d grown up hearing Rajavi’s propaganda and idealized stories of their parents’ “heroic” actions, ended up joining the MEK. Their view of the whole thing? Like something out of a bad Hollywood movie. They, however, managed to come to their senses soon. “Many of them eventually left the MEK again. I believe they were wiser than their parents.”

Now in their 40s, some of these former child members have recently begun to share their experiences. They frequently face threats from the organization, and are blamed for being “ungrateful”.

MEK’s ‘missions’ funded by the U.S.

Like many who joined the revolution against the Shah, Rajavi lacked the popular support to gain prominence in the new political system after the monarchy was toppled. However, what set him apart was the United States’ interest in using him to destabilize Iran, which began during his imprisonment under the Shah.

The MEK was initially formed by leftist students in 1965. “Rajavi was cultivated by the CIA as early as his imprisonment in 1971 during the Pahlavi era. He became the group’s leader in 1979,” Issa said. He added that the CIA believed purely communist groups, some of which were formed under the influence of the Soviet Union during the Shah’s reign, lacked appeal for the highly religious Iranian population. Therefore, someone with opposing ideologies to the Islamic Republic but a similar religious appearance was needed. This, according to Issa, is the origin of the MEK’s religious facade.

Rajavi left Iran in 1981 after he failed in two bids for power: a presidential campaign and a parliamentary seat. What followed next was a descent into terrorism. Orchestrating high-profile assassinations—under the order and support of the CIA —Rajavi turned the MEK against its own people. The targets were not just political leaders and military commanders; ordinary Iranians became victims in a brutal killing spree. The MEK’s hands are now stained with the blood of approximately 23,000 and their collaboration with Saddam Hussein in Iraq deepened the wound, as they helped him inflict further casualties on their homeland.

The organization’s operational capabilities, however, are now significantly diminished. The MEK has struggled to recruit younger generations, and its remaining members in Albania are primarily elderly and infirm. “I believe approximately 2,000 members remain with the organization. Some are unable to manage their daily lives due to illness or old age. A small number of younger members are primarily involved in cyber activities,” Issa stated.

As of 2025, the MEK is also exploiting vulnerable young people in Iran, particularly those with troubled pasts or financial hardships, by paying them to perform simple tasks within the country. These tasks include acts of public display, such as hanging posters of Masoud Rajavi or Maryam Qajar-Azdanlu in prominent locations like Tehran highways, which the MEK then promotes on its website.

For payment, these young individuals also set fire to governmental buildings, mosques, educational centers, and public transport, with their arson attacks reaching a high point during the fall 2022 unrest.

“The U.S. and its European allies who prop up these terrorists know that the MEK cannot bring down Iran. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves,” Issa stated. “Right now, the MEK is nothing more than a bargaining chip for them, a pressure point they hope will force Iran into concessions.”

Issa left Iraq and the MEK on December 26, 2011, at exactly 4:30 PM. “I left on my birthday. A relative I had in the UK got in touch with the UNHCR and UNAMI in Baghdad and arranged my exit in secret.”

Adapting to life outside the MEK camps was difficult initially. Having been isolated from technology and modern life, Issa faced ridicule. “People used to laugh at me,” he said. “They could not believe that I did not know how to operate a TV, a mobile phone, or anything else that was not widely used in Iran in the early 80s.”

Issa had one daughter and one son when he left to join the MEK. His young daughter’s visit was a catalyst for his eventual departure from the group. “One day my daughter came to Iraq. It was during the war there. I remember it was scorching hot, almost 60 degrees.”

Issa’s daughter reached the area near Camp Ashraf with the assistance of the Nejat Association, an NGO formed by former MEK members to help those still inside escape the organization’s influence. “My daughter stood outside the Ashraf camp, behind the fences. The organization refused to let her see me, and they didn’t even tell me she was there. Later, they informed me they’d prevented the visit to avoid demotivating me. This was a significant turning point, although it took several years before I finally left.”

Tehran Times, Sheida Sabzehvari

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The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Kazemi began his speech explaining the structures of criminal groups according to the science of law. He stated that the MEK should be considered a legal entity. Stating that criminal groups are illegal groups due to their criminal nature and the basis for the formation of these groups is to commit illegal acts, he said: “Therefore, the formation and creation of these groups also has no conformity with the law and they did not comply with the formal and substantive provisions of the law that legal entities usually must comply with in order to be recognized by the legislator. For the following reasons, I believe that criminal groups also have legal personality and responsibility, despite not complying with the formalities.”

Arguing about the MEK’s legal entity, based on the business laws, Kazemi concluded that the MEK can be brought to justice as a legal entity although it has never complied with the legal formalities needed.

Akbar Kabiri, a member of the then committee of revolutionary guards, took the stand and told the court about his observations on June 20, 1981 when the MEK broke out the armed struggle against the Iranian government.
“It was a horrible day when they all took to the streets and declared armed war,” he said. “The MEK expected the people to come and stand by their side them and establish their government on the same day. The people did not support them and appeared against them.”

Based on Kabiri’s testimonies the MEK hated that Iranian people did not support them and decided to revenge. “The leaders gave a direct order after June 20th, and these things that I am presenting are from the statements of the MEK agents that we arrested,” he added. “They said that they had orders from the high-ranking officials of the organization to take revenge. It was planned to assassinate anyone who appeared religious in the streets and had a picture of the late Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Beheshti in their workplace.”

Kabiri explained some of his experiences with the arrested MEK members: “We raided a place in a basement on Motahari Street where a number of pharmacy PhD students were gathered, and this place was a cyanide manufacturing laboratory. They would break the tops of the ampoules, seal them with double-sided tape, and give them to the organization, and the organization would give these cyanide bottles to its members.”

About the cyanide ampules he explained: “Before, the organization would give members capsules, and sometimes it wouldn’t work in their stomachs, or sometimes we would save these people we arrested by washing their stomachs; so they would give the bottles to the members. When they were arrested, they would put one of the bottles in their mouths and chew, and the bottle would break, and the cyanide would enter their blood directly. The organization didn’t want any of their members to be arrested alive.”

According to his testimonies most of the arrested MEK members were 18-19 years old who had been brainwashed by the group so as they were always ready to die for the cause of the group. The arrested members of the organization all said that they received all orders from the organization’s central cadre, and that members of the organization were not allowed to read newspapers or watch television, and if someone wanted to leave the organization, they would be physically eliminated.
Subsequently, Issa Azadeh, a defected member of the MEK who lives in Europe, appeared as a witness in the court session online and took an oath to truthfully state his case in court.

He began his testimonies with this introduction: “Considering that I have been living in Europe for many years and have defected this cult, I have received several assassination threats. Therefore, I always check this organization through their own media or other media. In addition, I am in touch with some friends who are present in Camp Ashraf 3 and in Albania and I am aware of the activities of this organization.

About the importance of the court he said, “The importance of this court for the mercenaries of the MEK and also for the opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran is very clear. Maryam Qajar Azdanloo [Maryam Rajavi], as the person behind the window and spokesperson of this organization, is seeking to tarnish and discredit this court and is making arrangements for this; therefore, this court is a very important and historic court. Although in my opinion, who was a member of the Cult of Rajavi for many years, this court was held late, but holding this court is a precedent for the crimes and brutalities of this organization.”

Azadeh who was a member of the group from 1987 to 2011, explained that in the MEK no one has ever had a clear and fixed organizational position. Responsibilities were given to each individual, and they said that this responsibility was temporary.
Regarding torture in the organization, Issa Azadeh said: Torture is a defined issue in the MEK and is completely permissible.

The torturers were led by Seyyed Mohammad Sadat Darbandi, known as Adel. He trained them. He himself was under the supervision of Giti Givechian. Another person named Mir Hossein Mousavi Sigaroudi was called Agent 007 within the Rajavi’s group. Other people called him Fazel. He was also one of the torturers and played a major role in the tortures of 1973. Also, Bahram Janat Sadeghi, who is currently in Albania, and Mahvash Sepehri, who was also in the first place in terms of torturer, known as Nasrin butcher in the organization.

He continued: Among the torturers were other people named Majid Alamiyan, Ezzati, known as Nariman, and Asadollah Musana. Masoud Mazloumi and Roqiyeh Abbasi were also torturers. There are other people, but these people I mentioned were the torturers of Shohreh Afagh. Here I mention my friends in the organization who were killed by these torturers. Minoo Fathali, who once escaped and Mahvash Sepehri once stepped on her throat with a boot and said that if anyone wants to escape, we will spill their blood next to the trees. Fathali was killed on Rajavi’s orders and by her torturers.

Asked by the judge if he himself was tortured in the MEK, Azadeh said, “I realized that these people were being taken out of base in the middle of the night. Every now and then, Seyyed Mohammad Darbandi, Sigaroudi, Majid Alemian, and Bahram Janat Sadeghi would come and put black garbage bags over the people’s heads, they would also collect the items from their wardrobes in black garbage bags, and they would take the people away in Land Cruisers.

He continued: When I realized this, they called me one night and Sigaroudi put a sheet of paper in front of me and asked me to sign it. On that A4 sheet of paper it was written: I came here as an infiltrator from the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to infiltrate and assassinate the leader. After reading the contents of this sheet, I crumpled it up, threw it at Sigaroudi, and got into a fight with them. They stabbed me in the arm with a knife, the marks of which are still there, and I broke two of my vertebrae. I arrived in Europe paralyzed and underwent two surgeries in a clinic in Paris, and my condition has not yet fully recovered.

Azadeh added: About 10 to 15 people there fought with me and after a lot of fighting, I fainted and fell on the spot. Then they took me to the hospital and locked me in solitary confinement with the same condition and stitches on my arm.

The judge said: Describe the details of the torture.

The defected member of the MEK said: When I protested against their actions, they attacked me. I protested and said, “Why are you torturing me? Am I your enemy?” Of course, they were preparing the ground for their torture, and when they put that sheet in front of me, I realized that they were looking for a ground for my torture, and this is one of the organization’s tactics. They tied my hands and feet behind my back and kicked me very brutally. This torture was so brutal that I did not imagine that I would survive and describe these crimes in such a place and situation.

He recalled: After I was released from solitary confinement, they took me to a 6×4 room where about 50 people were imprisoned. There was a bathroom and a toilet in one corner of the room, and they gave me an army blanket to use as a bedspread.

Azadeh continued: I had a friend named Saeed Seyed Murad, who was an outspoken person in the organization and did not give in to pressure, and that is why he went to prison. One day, while we were in the aforementioned room, they called out to Saeed Murad, and Bahram Jannat Sadeghi ordered him to be blindfolded right there and Saeed was taken away. We could clearly hear Saeed’s moaning and groaning, asking for our help, even though the MEK had special rooms for torture and had soundproofed them. After a few hours, four people had grabbed Saeed’s hands and feet and thrown him into the room.
The judge asked: Who else was there when Saeed Seyed Murad was taken away, accompanying Jannat Sadeghi?
Azadeh replied: Asadullah Mosanni and Hassan Ezzati.

The judge said: What was Saeed Sayed Murad’s condition when they brought him back into the room?

The MEK defector said: His entire face and eyes were blistered. They had taken our personal clothes and given us a prison-like outfit. Saeed Sayed Murad’s clothes were also torn to pieces and the marks of his boots were clearly visible on his body. His back was completely swollen and blue due to the blows from the cable or hose. The blows to his head and face had caused his entire face to swell and the marks of torture were clearly visible on his face, and he was unable to stand on his feet.

Hassan Sharqi, a prisoner of war who had joined the MEK, appeared on the stand as a defected member of the group and swore an oath not to tell anything but the truth. “I was a cadre officer [of Iranian army] and was held as a POW in 1980. Due to a family matter, I decided not to return to Iran. Mehdi Abrishamchi and his men tricked me into staying with the MEK for a few months, but then they took a pledge from me and kept me there for 24 years.”

One of the daily self-criticism sessions was led to Sharqi’s torture. He testifies in the court, “They said you want to sabotage the organization. I said, “Give me my money and expel me so I can leave here.” Because they had taken a lot of money from me when I arrived, they kept me in a container for 5-6 days and beat me twice a day. One of these torturers was Hossein Abrishamchi, who is dead. Another was Iraj Taleshi.”

Judge Dehghani asked: How many times were you beaten and did you need medicine and treatment and do you have a certificate?

Sharqi replied: Twice and because of this torture, the soles of my feet have not healed yet, but I have not received a certificate. They took about 110 thousand dollars from me and Zahra Rajabi, who was one of the commanders and was killed in Turkey, took two gold necklaces and my wedding ring, which I have filed a complaint with the Hague court.
At the end, the judge said to the plaintiff’s lawyer to present the medical certificates that each of these witnesses relied on to the court.

The next session of the court will be held on February 4th.

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Isa Azadeh was a high-ranking member of the MEK for over 30 years. He left the group in 2003 after the US army disarmed the group in Iraq.

Taking the stand in the court of hearing on November 19th, he introduced himself as saying:
“I am a former official and commander and executive director of the MEK. What I will testify in this court today is about the painful incident of August 28, 1988 and the killing of President Mohammad Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Dr. Bahonar.”

He testified about the agent of the MEK who detonated the bomb in the Prime Minister’s office. He explained about him: “In terms of character, Baqer was a person who appeared to be completely religious, and the form and method of holding his religious rituals were completely different from ours.”

Baqir used to work in the same unit that Azadeh was working. After a while Baqer disappeared. Isa Azadeh had no news of him. The meeting to coerce members to divorce their spouses have already started. In the lower ranks many members had not divorced their spouses yet. Baqer was one of them.

Isa Azadeh said about Baqer: “Out of curiosity, we always wondered where Baqir was? Until someone told me that Baqir had said in the meetings that he would not divorce his wife because he loved his wife. Rajavi had personally talked to him, but he was not convinced to obey.”
“The ideological revolution” or forced divorce meeting were held with the presence of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. The main topic of such meetings was divorce. “Sometimes there were husbands and wives present,” Azadeh said. “A very offensive language was used between wives and husbands.”

This time the meeting was particularly held to punish Baqer for his disobedience. The eyewitness of the MEK’s trial told the judge what he had seen in the hall:
“Rajavi entered with Maryam Qajar [Rajavi], they sat in the front scene and announced that the hero of the Mujahedin’s Liberation Army, brother of the Mujahedin, Massoud Kashmiri to come over. This was a military order.

As soon as he went to the microphone, the former Baqer and now Massoud Kashmiri, whose real name was revealed there, said: “Forgive me, brother, forgive me! I did not understand, I made a mistake, and other terms that were used in the organization.”

Azadeh recalls that Massoud Rajavi said, “Sisters and brothers! I introduce to you the brother and the hero of the People’s Mujahideen, Massoud Kashmiri, who blew up the Prime Minister’s office.” Maryam Rajavi said, “Did you take the bag?” She said, “Yes, sister.” He said, “Did you put it in the same place where you were told to put?” Baqir said, “Yes, sister.”
Azadeh continued: “That night became known in the organization as Baqer’s Night, because later it was a lever of power in Rajavi’s hands that he could mention when necessary. Now why did Baqir ask Rajavi for forgiveness so much? Because this person had asked to leave the group a few months earlier. Rajavi has never publicly claimed responsibility for the operations of June 27th and August 28th, 1988. Of course, he has made some references from time to time, but he has not publicly stated this explicitly.”

According to Isa Azadeh, “Because in the classification of terrorist acts, the two operations of June 27th and August 28th 1981 are classified as deadly operations that, if exposed and proven, could pose an existential threat to Rajavi’s terrorist organization. The level of such operations in terms of danger and existential threat to the terrorist organization is very high.”
Based on Azadeh’s testimonies, under the order of Massoud Rajavi, a fake passport was prepared for Massoud Kashmiri. He was allegedly sent to England. But from the summer of 1989 to this day, the name of Masoud Kashmiri (Baqer) has not been mentioned in the MEK.

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