Albania

SCANDAL! Albanian Mafia Helps Mojahedin Khalq Recruit Our Youth, Fears The EU

In Albania there is a silent threat to all of Europe from a group of three thousand Mojahedin (MEK) who are accommodated in a camp in our country. In an article published in Huffingtonpost, it is said that there is a risk that the MEK will cooperate with the Albanian Mafia, and have even tried to recruit Albanian youth for their own purposes. For this reason, the MEK has moved to a second camp called ‘Ashraf Three’.

Tirana Today

The article states that when anti-terrorism expert Anne Khodabandeh visited Tirana on November 5-7 to investigate the difficult situation of former members, some of the interviews she gave in the media were withdrawn from broadcast due to threats by the MEK and Albanian mafia when she revealed that she had discovered that the MEK is actively recruiting Albanian youth to join their cause.

According to the author of the article, the goal for the arrival of thousands of Mojahedin from Iraq to Albania was for their de-radicalization, but that never happened.

The article is authored by the director of Middle East Strategy Consultants, Massoud Khodabandeh, who as well as expressing concern about political slavery, warns of the danger of a Second Jihad represented by the Mojahedin cult under their leader Maryam Rajavi.

According to him, the Mojahedin in our country are political slaves, indoctrinated and kept in complete isolation. And if they try to abandon the group, they are humiliated, beaten and even killed.

Although America turns a blind eye to political slavery, the European Union takes a very different view. Not only are Albania’s efforts to join the EU completely hindered by the MEK’s activities there, the rapprochement of the group with the Albanian mafia, and the threat of a new wave of political slavery implies that Albania is now considered a threat to security at the border of Europe rather than a potential partner country.

Full article on Huffington post

tiranatoday.com , (Translated by Iran Interlink)

November 25, 2017 0 comment

Albania

Albania’s Modern Slavery Problem Alienates Europe

A UK report on modern slavery identifies its various manifestations – sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and domestic servitude – concluding that increased awareness results in an increase in detection and reporting. But, with trafficking at the root of much modern slavery it is clearly a worldwide phenomenon, not limited to the west or to any particular country.

Modern Slavery is usually a hidden phenomenon, it goes on behind closed doors and can be hard to detect. Victims are often isolated individuals – domestic servants or cannabis ‘farmers’ – locked away behind closed doors. Nobody knows of their existence because they have been illegally trafficked. Even those more openly kept in brothels for sexual exploitation are unable to escape for fear of reprisals against themselves and their families back home.

But there is another form of slavery hidden in plain sight: political slavery. This is not difficult to detect because the kinds of groups which practice it actively seek publicity and influence over worldwide politics. The exiled Iranian Mojahedin Khalq organisation (MEK aka MKO, NCRI, Rajavi cult) is one such group. It describes itself as a democratic political organisation, the main opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the life of the members speaks of a very different story.

A year ago, the last of nearly three thousand MEK members were finally expelled from Iraq where they had been operating under the patronage of Saddam Hussein. America paid millions of dollars to the UN and the Albanian government to have the group to settle there. Part of the deal was to establish a de-radicalization programme to return the members to normal life. This did not happen.

Instead, the group closed ranks and over the past year, several high-profile US politicians and former officials opportunistically visited Albania to heap praise on the MEK for its anti-Iran stance. John Bolton, Senator John McCain, among others have unabashedly promoted the group by meeting its leader Maryam Rajavi there.

Of greater concern was that during this same period the families of these MEK members in Albania complained to the UNHCR and the Albanian government about the treatment of their loved ones. They said that many, perhaps the majority of MEK members want to leave the group but have nothing – no money, no place to go, no officially recognised status and no language skills – to help them do so. They are effectively being held in a state of modern slavery.

A report by an Albanian lawyer (acting for MEK members who managed to separate from the group) after meeting with the UNHCR in Tirana reveals that under a secret agreement struck between the Americans, the government of Albania and the MEK leader, the UNHCR supervised the transfer of approximately 3,000 MEK from Iraq to Albania not as refugees but on a ‘humanitarian basis’. In other words, they have no official status in the country.

According to this agreement, all the expenses for the MEK members are to be doled out by the MEK itself. This means that members are totally dependent on the MEK leadership for their subsistence. Those who have expressed their desire to separate from the group, for whatever reason, must continue to obey MEK rules and restrictions, they must accept MEK imposed conditions so that they are given accommodation and food.

As such, they are forced to pay lip service to a belief system they no longer believe in. They are forced to give allegiance to a pseudo-political terrorist entity. Under these conditions, they are modern political slaves, trapped in plain sight in a circle of fear, coercion and isolation.

Bahman Azami, Adel Azami and Sadollah Seyfi talk about their ordeals with Albanian media (Nov. 2017)

The stories of those who do escape are harrowing. (See videos below.) In the MEK, any word of dissent is punished. How? By public humiliation, beatings, solitary confinement and ultimately death. More poignantly, in the MEK contact with your family is a punishable sin against the leader. Your devotion must solely focus on Maryam Rajavi to the exclusion of all others. This is a disturbing addition to the ways and reasons that individuals are enslaved. It is known as cultic abuse because of the involvement of a belief system. The MEK are political pawns whose minds have been hijacked for a cause most of them no longer believe in. Urgent action is needed to rescue them. But at present there is little hope of that. Even Albania’s deputy anti-trafficking coordinator, Dr Elona Gjebrea, who is also the deputy minister of the interior, has bowed down in the Court of Maryam Rajavi.

When counter-terrorism expert Anne Khodabandeh visited Tirana on 5-7 November to investigate the plight of former members, several media interviews she gave were pulled from broadcast due to MEK and Albanian Mafia intimidation when she revealed that the MEK are actively recruiting Albanian youth to their cause.

But a more sinister turn of events is taking place right now. The MEK is moving over 2,500 members to a remote camp in the north of Albania far away from any local communities. This desperate act serves several purposes. One is to recreate the isolation the cult enjoyed in Iraq where coercion and brainwashing were a daily occurrence – the new camp is called ‘Ashraf Three’. Another reason is to prevent families from reaching their loved ones and prevent members from escaping. The other is to empty the old university buildings in Tirana to make way for a new round of political slaves to take up residence. This time, families of Daesh fighters who have fled Iraq and Syria are rumoured to be ready to move to Albania on ‘humanitarian grounds’.

While America turns a blind eye to political slavery, the European Union takes a very different view. Not only have Albania’s efforts to accede to the EU been completely stymied by the MEK’s activities there, the group’s alignment with the Albanian Mafia and the threat of a new wave of political slaves means Albania is now regarded as a security threat on the border of Europe rather than a potential partner country.

IMPAKT 97: Jihad 2.0? What are the Iranian Jihadis (MKO, Rajavi cult) doing in Albania? (part 1)

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Ann-Khodabande-Impakt.mp4

To download the video file click here

IMPAKT 97: Jihad 2.0? What are the Iranian Jihadis (MKO, Rajavi cult) doing in Albania? (part 2)

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Impakt-Defectors-2017.mp4

To download the video file click here

Massoud Khodabandeh, Contributor ,Director at Middle East Strategy Consultants.

November 22, 2017 0 comment

Albania

Warning: MEK moving members to a remote and isolated camp in Albania

For three days now, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO, Rajavi cult) in Albania has been relocating its members to a remote and isolated camp in Albania which they have called the ‘Ashraf Three’ base after Camp Ashraf, the main MEK garrison in Iraq. The new base is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire to prevent the members from escaping.

MKO members in Albania

Since a long time ago the Rajavi cult has been covertly establishing facilities far away from Tirana, or any other town or city, to which it can move its members and separate them from the outside world. The aim is to exert maximum control over them to enable further brainwashing them without interference. A remote and isolated place similar to Camp Ashraf in Iraq is an ideal place for coercive psychological manipulation because it allows the leaders to control the followers both physically and mentally.

At present, the MEK members in Tirana enjoy some limited access to the outside world. This is not tolerable for the cult. The cult leader Maryam Rajavi wants her followers captive all the time. If they have free access to the outside world they will realize they are continually being told lies and they will discover that there is a way out.

The method of controlling the members inside the MEK is mind manipulation which requires an isolated area from which the members cannot escape and gradually people forget about the free world and accept their lives in there.

Cults like the MEK do not allow their members access to uncensored news or information. If they are moved to this new base the situation will be even worse than it was for them in Iraq since they now know a lot more than they did before about the outside world and therefore the internal pressure and suppression will be more severe.

The cult has also forced members to sign documents to swear that they wish to move to the new place willingly and voluntarily and they have no right to leave the place ever. They are told that this is for their own safety and security which is not correct. In this way they are giving away their rights and freedom for the rest of their lives.

The members have also been given promises of excellent facilities and services which are all lies and even if any such privileges existed these do not replace family relations and contact with the outside world which the cult is denying.

For instance, is it not worse that the members will not have access to the internet and will not be able to contact their families? In Rajavi’s world one has to live isolated from the world and only listen to the cult leaders.

Sahar Family Foundation urges all humanitarian activists and organizations around the world to prevent this human catastrophe from happening and rescue these people from being deceived into a lifelong prison.

November 20, 2017 0 comment

Albania

Double standards in Albania’s fight against terrorism

Albania’s High Criminal Court changed the sentences of two Muslim Albanians from prison to house arrest. The detainees, Xhezair Fishti and Medat Hasani, who are Salafists, were arrested in November 2016 by Albanian counter-terrorism units on suspicion of planning an attack on the Israeli national football team, which was scheduled to play Albania on Nov. 12, 2016.

These Salafists were two of some 150 Muslims who the Albanian police detained that month. Albanian authorities, who generally regard Muslims with suspicion, conducted mass arrests and closed the borders with Kosovo and Macedonia. They did this so that Muslim Albanian fans could not attend the football match between Albania and Israel and shout anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian slogans.

However, out of the 150 people who were detained, four were singled out as terrorist suspects and accused of plotting to attack the Israeli team. This counterterrorism operation was coordinated along with the Kosovar police, which, for its part, arrested another 19 Muslims with the same excuse. Now a year later, Albania’s High Criminal Court has not been able to find any incriminating evidence for the arrests and therefore was forced to free them from jail and instead hold them under house arrest.

It seems that the detention by the Albanian authorities of four Muslim Albanians in 2016 was made based on false Israeli media claims, since now, a year later, no charge has been proven against the detainees.

Since 2014, the government of Albania has been very aggressive in arresting Sunni Muslims and surveilling their mosques and civil society organizations as part of its policies for “fighting terrorism”. Pressured by the American administration and U.S. Embassy in Tirana, the Albanian government has changed many of its laws, arrested and jailed dozens of Muslims and imams who “sympathize” with Daesh, confiscated properties belonging to terrorist suspects and with the help of the U.S. administration has put pressure on Muslims in Albania to cooperate and spy on other Muslims and imams who are seen as “potential terrorist supporters”. In its fight against terrorism, the Albanian government has been helped a lot by Turkey, which has extradited Daesh suspects to Albania when the government asked for their extradition.

However, while the Albanian government has been more than zealous in appeasing the Americans during their fight against terrorism and cracking down on Daesh sympathizers, it has not shown the same zeal for fighting other terrorist organizations that presently operate or have members hiding in the country.

Two foreign governments have accused Albania of hosting members of two terrorist organizations in the country. The first is Turkey, which has asked Albania to detain Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members and close their organizations in the country. The second is Iran, which has asked Albania to not host and at least to curb the activities of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian terrorist organization that advocates the violent overthrow of the current government of Iran.

FETÖ and the MEK are terrorist groups as much as Daesh is. These terrorist organizations seek to overthrow the governments of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran by means of violence and terrorism. Albanian Criminal Code Articles 231 and 265 condemn the participation, incitement, recruitment, organizing, leading and training in terrorism and calls for the overthrow of regimes in other countries. Daesh, FETÖ and the MEK do or have done these things during the past years against many governments in the Muslim world. However, while the governments of Turkey and Iran have demanded that Albania help them in their fight against terrorism, Albanian authorities have continuously failed to stick to their laws and fight terrorism impartially and without bias.

Even though the Turkish Embassy in Tirana and many Turkish authorities have continuously asked the Albanian government to crack down on FETÖ and detain terrorists who abetted the coup of July 15, 2016, Albanian authorities have neglected their duties. The latest example of this double standard was on Oct. 7, 2017, when Albanian border police detained Muhammed Aydoğmuş, a FETÖ suspect whom Turkey had placed on Interpol’s wanted list. Aydoğmuş, who was detained while trying to exit Albania with falsified documents after being found to be a FETÖ member, was released and not detained as both Albanian and Turkish law demands.

Apart from his crimes in Turkey, Aydoğmuş had committed two crimes according to Albanian Penal Code Articles 189 and 297, which carry a jail sentence from three to seven years for people who falsify documents and try to illegally cross the border. However, Aydoğmuş got special treatment from Albanian authorities. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a number of Western officials asked Albania to release the FETÖ suspect with the excuse that his arrest was political. The Albanian government and its courts have so far refused requests by the Turkish Embassy in Tirana for his extradition and he is not even being held in detention for his crimes in Albania, as any other person might be.The double standards that Albania displays in its fight against terrorism can be seen even in the case of MEK that Albania hosted on the request of the U.S. after 2013. This organization, which was relocated in its entirety from Iraq to Albania in 2016, now has several camps in Tirana. They run different operations against Iran from these camps and the leader, Maryam Rajavi, and the commanders continuously call for the violent overthrow of the government of Iran. Prominent U.S. senators and officials, including John McCain and John Bolton, have visited Albania over the past months and together with Rajavi and a number of Albanian politicians such as Pandeli Majko and Fatmir Mediu have called for war against Iran.

What Rajavi and MEK does in Albania is exactly what many Salafists were doing in 2013 and 2014. The Salafists were calling for the violent overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and replacing his regime with their caliphate. Imam Genci Balla, one of the Salafist imams who was calling for the fight against Syria in 2013 has been jailed by the Court of Serious Crimes and condemned to 17 years in prison. He was arrested in 2014 and charged under Articles 231 and 265 of the Albanian Criminal Code. He and many of his friends were charged with inciting terrorism and for calls to take part in military action in a foreign country.

Many Salafist Muslims who followed Balla ask in their Facebook postings why their imam is in jail but the Iranian MEK, which makes the same calls as Balla did in the past, are never charged, but instead honored by American and Albanian politicians. Other people ask why Albania does not extradite FETÖ suspects to Turkey in the same way that Turkey extradited Daesh suspects to Albania in 2013.

The release of Aydoğmuş, who was caught breaking the law, and the detention on false charges of Fishti and Hasani by Albanian authorities shows that Albania has different standards in its fight against terrorism. If one happens to be an Albanian Salafist Muslim, the chances are that they can very easily be jailed on false charges and mere suspicion of being a terrorist, but if one is a FETÖ or the MEK member and are caught breaking the law or even making open calls for a terrorist war against Turkey or Iran, the Albanian precedent shows that they will not face justice for terrorist-related activities. It seems that for as long as U.S. foreign policy is hostile to the country in which one wants to wage their terrorism, Albania will obey and not punish them if they engage in terrorist activities.

Olsi Jazexhi, Daily Sabah

November 16, 2017 0 comment

Albania

The Mojahedin-Mafia coalition threatens media freedom, censorship of Ora News television

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Singleton_Albania_201711.mp4

to download the video file click here

Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton) exposing Maryam Rajavi’s MEK activities in Albania

The strength of the Iranian Mojahedin organization in Albania is unconscionable. The organization in question – known as the MKO, the MEK, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the Rajavi cult – not only wants the violent overthrow of the government of Iran, not only has it managed to recruit politicians, MPs and young Albanians in its campaign against Iran, but their power has already been extended to the media in Albania.

On November 8 and 9, the British activist and former member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization, Anne Singleton – Khodabandeh, visited Albania. During her stay, she visited several institutions and gave several interviews to the Albanian media, showing her experience in the process of deradicalization of violent extremists. Anne Singleton was interviewed by several television outlets including Ora News and TemA TV. She, along with some former Mojahedin who have separated from the jihadist organization and have been deradicalized, provided interviews showing their experience and suffering in the Iranian jihadist organization and the reasons why they decided to abandon jihad.

The TemA TV and Ora News reportage was widely viewed so that the Mojahedin organization in Tirana demanded a counter-response to her allegations. But the reportage to be broadcast by one of these television channels never appeared. The Mojahedin not only refused to answer questions from the journalist who went to interview them but visited the media’s editorial office and “convinced” the owner not to show the interview of the British activist.

While Ora News featured an interview with the British activist on 12 November 2017. However, today, two days after the interview of British activist Anne Singleton the broadcast has been deleted by Ora News from its channel on Youtube and from the news edition of the date 12 November 2017. The Iranian Mojahedin, this cultic and jihadist organization operating freely in Albania, seems to have extended its power not only to corrupt Albanian politicians but also to Albanian media. What is being written here is not conspiracy theory, but fact. Below are the hidden links of Ora News television where Anne Singleton talked about her experience with the Iranian jihadist organization:

The news edition of Ora News where interviews were conducted:

http://www.oranews.tv/emisionet/edicioni-i-lajmeve/arrestimi-i-gjyqtarit-te-henen-para-gjykates-sekseri-qe-mori-20-mije-euro

News Page where the news was deleted:

http://www.oranews.tv/article/ekskluzive-pr-ora-news-anne-Singleton-muxhahedinet-po-rekrutojne-te-rinjte-shqiptare#.WgipuWBtZ84.facebook

Link to Youtube where news is deleted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Tu_JltAx8&feature=youtu.be

Here is the original interview in Ora News that was published by Gazeta Impakt:

Muxhahedinet iraniane kercenojne lirine e medias, censurojne televizionin Ora NewsGazeta Impakt, Tirana, Albania, November 14 2017

November 15, 2017 0 comment

Albania

IMPAKT 97: Jihad 2.0? What are the Iranian Jihadis doing in Albania? (part 2)

Gazeta Impakt, Tiran, Albania

Anne Singelton – Khodabandeh an ex-Iranian mojahedin gives the testimonies of three ex- mojahedins (Mojahedin Khalq: MEK, MKO, NCRI, Rajavi cult) members who have abandoned MKO in Albania. The mojahedin defectors show how they were recruited, brainwashed and kept in servitude by the Rajavi cult and how they gained their freedom from MEK.

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Impakt-MEK-Jihadi-2017.mp4

to download the video file click here

November 8, 2017 0 comment

Albania

IMPAKT 97: Jihad 2.0? What are the Iranian Jihadis doing in Albania? (part 1)

Anne Singleton – Khodabandeh an ex-Iranian mojahedin discusses with Dr. Olsi Jazexhi the presence of the Iranian mojahedin (Mojahedin Khalq: MEK, MKO, NCRI, Rajavi cult) organization in Albania.

The discussion is around the MKO, Daesh, FETO and other terrorist organizations that have recruited fighters in the Balkans and have used countries like Albania as a base against Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They discuss the history of MKO, the process of radicalization, the use of terror as weapon of choice in the Middle East and the reasons why the American government uses terrorism and supports organizations like MKO for its geostrategical interests in the Middle East.

They debate the use by MKO of terms like the National Council of Resistance of Iran, democratic opposition of Iran etc to depict itself as a democratic organization, while this organization breaks the laws of Albania and calls for a violent war against a foreign country. The analysts ask why the Albanian government jails and “deradicalises” Albanian Suni jihadis who want to join the jihad in Syria, but tolerates the Iranian jihadis to call for war against Iran from Albania?

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/Impakt-MEK-Jihadi-2017.mp4

to download the video file click here

Gazeta Impakt, Tiran, Albania

November 8, 2017 0 comment

Albania

Legal Representative meets with UNHCR in Tirana to clarify the status of MEK defectors

On October 9, 2017 an Albanian lawyer and a representative of some defectors from the Mojahedin Khalq organization (MEK) met with officials of the UNHCR in Tirana, Albania. The meeting had been requested on 27 September by the lawyer acting on behalf of two defectors from the MEK who want to know what their future relation with their UNHCR will be.

The lawyer and one MEK defector were received at the offices of the UNHCR in Tirana by H. Balla from the Office of Legal Protection, and H. Khan who is responsible for the MEK members in Albania.

The lawyer acting on behalf of her clients demanded explanations from UNHCR officials regarding the status of her clients in Albania, their economic difficulties and their legal status.

During the discussions H. Khan, who was responsible for the re-settlement of MEK members from Iraq in Albania, clarified a number of items for the lawyer. He explained that the UNHCR had helped the MEK to relocate to Albania to save them from the threats they were receiving in Iraq. The UNHCR had been paying MEK members in Iraq but now that they had settled in Albania they were no longer the responsibility of the UNHCR. Contrary to the claims of MEK defectors that the UNHCR pays 500 EUROs monthly to MEK members, the UNHCR representative explained that the UNHCR no longer pays any money to the MEK for its members. He said that the MEK has its own budget. It has an agreement with the Albanian state and it is responsible for paying its members and defectors alike, since this was one of the points of the understanding that the MEK, the Americans and the Albanian state had agreed once they were transferred to Albania.

The UNHCR for its part was trying to help MEK members to integrate into Albanian society by providing training for them and through an agreement that it had with an Albanian NGO, the Refugee and Migrant Services (RMSA), which was helping MEK members with their social needs.

During the discussions, the MEK defector complained to the UNHCR about the way the MEK was blackmailing its members in Albania, enslaving them, using psychological threats and blackmail and threatening them with slander. The defector described the spying network that the MEK has created against its own members who are deserting the organization en-mass. He complained that the MEK was keeping its members totally isolated, prohibiting them from talking to their families in Iran and throughout the world, and if one member is caught talking to his family or to another defector he is immediately expelled from the organization and is accused of being an agent of Iran.

The defector revealed how the MEK had enslaved many of its members for the past 30 years, and now that they were living in a democratic country like Albania, this organization was still blackmailing them, keeping them isolated and not allowing them to enjoy the freedoms of democracy and civic life.

The lawyer told the UNHCR officials that these claims have been presented to her by many other defectors who live in a state of fear and intimidation from this organization, which claims that it will bring democracy to Iran. She asked the UNHCR representatives if they were aware that the MEK was intimidating and threatening even the families of MEK members who have come to Albania to meet their loved ones. She disclosed to UNHCR representatives that in a number of cases, family members of MEK members had been detained and threatened even by the Albanian police whenever they had come to Albania and tried to contact their relatives.

The lawyer asked how can this organization speak of democracy when it treats its members in such an inhumane way, which is a criminal offense according to Albanian laws? She asked the UNHCR about its stance towards these criminal allegations that defectors are making against this totalitarian organization which claims to fight for democracy and human rights? How could the UNHCR work with and support such a totalitarian and enslaving organization? They asked UNHCR staff if they were aware that this organization is acting against human rights conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Albania has signed, and was denying its members freedom of thought, freedom to create a family, freedom of movement, freedom of association and was treating many of its members as slaves.

Furthermore, the lawyer asked why the UNHCR does not support the MEK defectors, who after leaving the organization end up in the street and without any support? By not supporting these people who want to enjoy their personal freedoms that democracy guarantees, the UNHCR was not helping these people who deserve to live in freedom in a democracy.

The UNHCR representatives responded that the behavior of the MEK towards its members has to be judged by the Albanian government and within the framework of the agreement it has with the MEK. The lawyer pointed out that this agreement has not been made public or submitted to scrutiny and so nobody knows what has actually been agreed. What was clear is that as the situation stands at present this agreement is in contravention of UNHCR rules and human rights legislation because clearly neither the MEK members nor the defectors and nor their families are not being accorded their proper civil or human rights.

When the lawyer asked about their legal status and what the UNHCR is contributing towards this issue – since many of them have no work permits and their legal status is described as humanitarian refugees – the UNHCR responded that they are working with the Albanian government to clarify their status.

They suggested that the lawyer acting on their behalf must contact the Interior Ministry of Albania since this body is responsible for their residence in the country.

The lawyer asked the UNHCR representatives whether they do pay some MEK members. The UNHCR representatives said that yes, they do pay some members, on a case by case basis, but not everyone. They were paying the accommodation of M. A. a defector who was in a desperate situation.

The MEK defector who was in the meeting said that the help M. A. was receiving was minimal. He was able only to buy just few kilograms of oil, flour and sugar to eat for a whole month.

The legal representative of the UNHCR admitted that support for the MEK members in Albania was a big problem. He said that even the Albanian government will not support the refugees for more than six months. The government gives them accommodation, food and after six months they are on their own.

But the difficult case of MEK members was exacerbated since they were taken to Albania on a humanitarian basis and not as asylum seekers. They have no work permits and cannot integrate into the society.

The defector claimed that the UNHCR had in the past paid MEK members 500 EUROs per month in their accounts. However, H. Khan explained that this was no longer the case. The UNHCR had given financial support to MEK members in 2016 but now it has run out of money. He said that the support of MEK members and defectors was the duty of the MEK which brought them into the country and the Albanian government who agreed to host the Mojahedin.

The defector said that the Albanian office of asylum had told MEK members that in 2018 some humanitarian organization might take over the financial care of MEK members in Albania. But the situation of the defectors remains unclear and this means that many MEK defectors will continue to suffer and struggle for their economic survival in Albania.

The defector explained that many families of MEK members want to contact their loved ones in the MEK so that they can provide them with support and assistance. But the MEK’s refusal to allow this contact and the Albanian government’s compliance with this ban means they are forced to remain with the MEK or become destitute. This was not an acceptable situation when many people could be helped by their own families and not depend on handouts from any organization.

The conclusion of this meeting was that many MEK members who want to defect from this ex-terrorist organization, who do not want to be considered as combatants and want instead to live in freedom and liberty have no option but to stay with the organization. If they choose to leave the MEK and enjoy the freedoms and democracy of Albania, to marry, have children and create families like all other free human beings, they will suffer economic hardship and blackmail from the MEK whose spies monitor and intimidate the defectors. They will be accused by the MEK of being Iran’s agents and no one will help them. They do not speak Albanian, have no skills, the vast majority has no work permits and cannot find jobs in impoverished Albania. They have no passports and no possibility to settle in other richer countries in Europe. The only option that many MEK members have is to stick it out with the MEK in its camps in Albania. They must live an isolated life in which they are also thereby forced to agree to call for waging a terrorist war against Iran.

At the end of the meeting the UNHCR advised the lawyer and her clients to contact the Albanian office for asylum to clarify their status and situation. It was also suggested that the MEK should be taken to court and asked to pay for the defectors since the MEK had undertaken responsibility for their financial support after their transfer to Albania.

By Av. M.B., Lawyer

October 17, 2017 0 comment

Albania Former members of the MEK

Gross human rights violations against former MEK members in Albania

letter to ICRI, HRW

Dear friends,

As you are aware, it is now one year since the great majority of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO, Rajavi Cult) have taken up residence in Albania. These individuals were brought to Tirana by the UNHCR and are recognized as political refugees in this country. However, the UNHCR – contrary to all UN laws and regulations – has treated them as a group and not as individual persons, and has surrendered authority for them to the MEK leaders. The payment of their monthly refugee allowances is also given into the hands of the group.

Over the past year, many members have left the organization. The MEK, according to the commitments made in an agreement with Geneva, has paid their allowances to them. Then gradually the organization started to reduce and cut the monies given to the former members under the pretext of different excuses such as ‘contacting their families in Iran’. At the beginning of this month (September), the MEK announced that it would not pay anything to anybody.

The former members, who have no income and no family support in a foreign country, complained to the UNHCR in Albania (RAMSA) and other official bodies in this country. The formers asked to have their allowances paid directly to them. The response of the UNHCR and other authorities was simply to tell the MEK to start paying the allowances again and fulfill its commitments.

Today we learned that Maryam Rajavi has informed the UNHCR and some of the former members that they would start paying the allowances again according to their commitments.

But the former members do not want their lives to be controlled and dictated by a destructive mind control cult which abuses the most basic human rights of its members. Such an arrangement allows the MEK to do and demand whatever they want and to hold the monthly allowances as ransom for these conditions. As an example, this cult coerces some of the former members to act against others and spy on them in order to get their own money.

As the representative of the suffering families, Sahar Family Foundation urges you to send inspectors to investigate the gross and open violations of human rights against the former members of the MEK in Albania by Maryam Rajavi and the MEK with the assistance of the RAMSA. Unfortunately, international and humanitarian organizations have remained silent over this matter and have failed to do anything to prevent further abuses.

September 18, 2017 0 comment

Albania Former members of the MEK

Former MEK members petition the UNHCR in Albania

Some nearly 70 former members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization yesterday approached the UNHCR in Albania (RAMSA) with a petition signed by all of them demanding their rights.

RAMSA officials who met with these individuals – who are protesting against their refugee allowances being cut by the MEK – said they are following up the issue with Geneva and there will be an urgent meeting about the case.

The individuals told the officials that over the coming days they would, of course with more people, continue coming to their offices until their rights are restored and that they will not give in.

The RAMSA officials accepted the fact that the MEK has acted against the commitments made in an agreement in Geneva. Presumably the organization did not expect so many defectors. In addition, there are many more inside the group who wish to leave.

The text of the petition handed over to RAMSA is as follows:

Petition to the UNHCR and the Albanian ministry of interior affairs

In the name of Human Rights and in the name of Asylum seeking

We, a number of Iranian refugees in Albania and former members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO …), would like to address all related organs and draw their attentions to our cause.

We accepted the humanitarian invitation by the time Albanian government in cooperation with the USA and the UNHCR in Albania (RAMSA) and moved to this country after being expelled from Iraq.

We decided willingly to dispatch from the MEK and we wish to live freely on our own outside the organization.

We learned that apparently according to some possible agreements between the UNHCR and the MEK, the refugee allowances of the former members should be paid by the MEK directly.

The Organization started paying us 45000 Leks (Albanian currency) and this was made up to September 2017.

But surprisingly the Organization informed us recently that from the coming month no allowances will be paid to us and we can complain to the RAMSA if we wish.

It is worth mentioning that not being able to receive the money means a grave economical difficulty, and consequently psychological pressure, to the refugees who have left the MEK and would make the life impossible for us, since we are not Albanian citizens but refugees who have no financial support what so ever.

Therefore we urge the related organs including the RAMSA and the interior ministry to meet the below demands:

Our refugee allowances be paid by RAMSA and we be supported by the United Nations in Albania
Work permits and jobs are granted to us in order that we are able to support ourselves.
Our Refugee Status is officially issued in order that we can receive our righteous benefits.

Many Thanks and regards

List of signatures:

September 13, 2017 0 comment

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