MKO former members
Mr. Darius Balafkandeh (Ghaffar) could bravely manage to escape Camp Ashraf where he was imprisoned for ten years. He dared to break physical and mental bars the cult of Rajavi had 
imposed on their life for years.
He is now tasting freedom among his family especially his beloved old mother who had been awaiting his return for years.
Nejat Society congratulates Mr. Balafkandeh‘s family on salvation of their beloved son from terrorist destructive cult of MKO.
Three leaders of the MKO in Camp Ashraf northeast of Baghdad have escaped and surrendered themselves to Iraqi security forces.
A source, who asked not to be named, said in a press statement on Wednesday that, "the three leaders were able to escape from Camp Ashraf", noting that one of the three defectors from the organization is a high ranking member.
The source pointed out that "there is information from the Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf) which have been confirmed stating the existence of many numbers of those resident in the camp who are trying to get out".
The source said that "dozens of them managed to escape from the camp and those responsible for holding them in the camp and surrendered to the Iraqi government [asking it] to help them".
The last who managed to escape from the camp last April were three of the leaders, Mary Sanjabi, Abdel-Latif Shardari and Barat Kikhani, who escaped and surrendered themselves to the Iraqi forces. They revealed the poor conditions in which the ordinary members are treated and accused the organisation of not respecting international laws and the laws of the host country as well as its interference in the internal affairs of Iraq.
Ali Aldhargam – Translated by Iran Interlink
As recently defected MKO members speak about their ordeals, Iraqi security forces have gained more insight into the torturous workings of the terrorist organization.
The members have described life at their Camp Ashraf base in Iraq as miserable saying the organization has been brainwashing its members for the last two decades.
They say that the MKO members who reside in the camp are deprived of basic human rights. For example, they are not allowed to use the phone or internet or even communicate with the outside world by any means. They further added that the residents of the camp have to show blind obedience to their leaders or face the death penalty.
According to the defected MKO members, after the US-led Invasion in 2003, US troops have allowed the MKO to secretly keep some of their weapons inside the camp.
They also said since 2003, the leaders of the camp have been training the members on how to launch attacks against Iraqi forces if they tried to enter the camp.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, and is responsible for numerous terrorist acts against both Iranians and Iraqis.
The group is especially notorious in Iran for siding with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
Wisam al-Bayati, Diyala
The Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism, an Iran-based right group, strongly criticized a US daily for its support for the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) and its politically-tainted attitude towards terrorism.
"We the families of the terror victims of the Middle-East, including Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait and thousands of Iranians who have been suffering years of pain, condemn any terrorist act, anywhere in the world and against any one, avoiding any classification between good and bad terrorism," the association said in a letter to the US daily, Boston Globe.
"Therefore, we believe that considering this phenomenon under any political issue in which the centrality and priority of human beings are sacrificed for short-term political interests brings about a challenge in the global fight against terrorism that keeps us away from the basic humanitarian goals," the letter added.
"However, countries should fight against all terrorist groups in the same way that they condemn the Al-Qaeda. They have to consider it as a humanitarian issue (beyond political ups and downs) and seriously fight against terrorist cults such as the Mojahedin-e Khlaq Organization (MKO) which has a complete record of terrorist crimes, including the murder of 7 American military counselors, thousands of Iraqis (25000 people) and thousands of Iranians (12000 Iranians) and the citizens of other countries, including Kuwait."
"In fact the danger of this group is no less than the Al-Qaeda and we, the families of terrorism victims in the Middle East who are themselves the victims of this group, consider the danger of this group far more than the Al-Qaeda," the letter concluded.
After clashes between Iraqi security forces and MKO members in the group’s main training camp in Iraq, the US daily called the attack as "massacre" and claimed that the Iraqi forces’ attack on Camp Ashraf proves what it called Iran’s dangerous influence in Iraq.
The daily also said in its editorial that the United States and its allies must act quickly to relocate abroad some 3,000 MKO members still stationed in Camp Ashraf.
"Toward this end, the State Department needs to remove the group from its terrorist list," the daily wrote.
The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s.
Iraqi security forces took control of the training base of the MKO at Camp Ashraf – about 60km (37 miles) north of Baghdad – in 2009 and detained dozens of the members of the terrorist group.
The Iraqi authority also changed the name of the military center from Camp Ashraf to the Camp of New Iraq.
Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.
A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.
According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.
Numerous articles and letters posted on the Internet by family members of MKO recruits confirm reports of the horrific abuse that the group inflicts on its own members and the alluring recruitment methods it uses.
The most shocking of such stories includes accounts given by former British MKO member Ann Singleton and Mustafa Mohammadi — the father of an Iranian-Canadian girl who was drawn into the group during an MKO recruitment campaign in Canada.
Mohammadi recounts his desperate efforts to contact his daughter, who disappeared several years ago – a result of what the MKO called a ‘two-month tour’ of Camp Ashraf for teenagers.
He also explains how the group forces the families of its recruits to take part in pro-MKO demonstrations in Western countries by threatening to kill their loved ones.
Lacking a foothold in Iran, the terrorist group recruits ill-informed teens from Iranian immigrant communities in Western states and blocks their departure afterwards.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
Iraq had announced earlier this month that members of the terrorist group must leave by the end of 2011.
Earlier this week, the Baghdad government assured Iranian officials and people that it is determined to expel the terrorist organization from Iraq by the end of 2011.
"Expulsion of the MKO from Iraq’s soil and termination of its presence which has lasted for several years is a definite decision," Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbaq told FNA, adding, "The MKO will be expelled from Iraq by the end of the current year."
"The only option for the members of the MKO is leaving Iraq and they have no other choice," he reiterated.
Reminding the black record of the terrorist group and its crimes against the Iraqi people, Dabbaq said "collaboration with the former Iraqi dictator and massacre of thousands of our people is just part of their crimes".
The Association for Defending the Victims of Terrorism condemned a recent report released by the Independent website in defense of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), 
reminding the news website that MKO is responsible for the assassination and massacre of tens of thousands of innocent people in Iran, Iraq and other countries.
The following is the detailed text of the ADVT statement:
This letter is an explanation for the report published in the website of Independent on 12 April under the title of "Crime against humanity at Camp Ashraf". We consider it a responsibility for ourselves to mention some points about the terrorist group of Mojahedin-e Khlaq Organization (a.k.a MKO/Mek/PMOI) in order to increase the public knowledge about it. At first let’s take a look at the recent events which occurred in Ashraf Camp. On the day of the event and after two days of being stoned by Ashraf residents, Iraqi forces, stationed near the base, were forced to react.
Despite the constant demand of the Iraqi people and emphasis of the various parties on the expulsion of this group from Iraqi soil, this measure has faced delay for many years. The terrorist group of MKO has taken different reactions in the face of these demands including activities for weakening the legal Iraqi government, displaying human rights postures, propaganda fool plays like attacks against Ashraf residents, anti-human crimes and the violation of rights of the members. These are all conducted in order to represent a critical condition in Iraq which needs the interference of the US forces and accordingly the continuance of members’ residence in Ashraf. An evidence of such acts which once more proves the cultic structure of this terrorist group was the self-immolation of two Ashraf members for inciting other members on April 8th.
Self-immolation is the most common way of suicide in MKO which implies the cultic feature of this terrorist organization. The cultic characteristics of this group have been widely reported by former MKO members and Human Rights Watch report. Another example of the application of this technique was the self-immolation of 2003 in which a number of MKO members set themselves on fire in protest to the arrest of Maryam Rajavi. Ashraf Camp with its military framework is applied by MKO leaders for controlling the members. Let’s review some facts about this terrorist cult:
Investigating and identifying the efforts of this cult for defining itself as a banished opposition group worth consideration. A glance at the background of this terrorist cult clarifies that it has not been banished but its inhuman activities led to the disapproval of people and finally the cult chose a base outside the country in order to continue its terrorist operations. The more ominous fact is that MKO started cooperation with the Baath regime which was hated by Iranian people due to its aggression on Iranian territory. In fact Rajavi’s escape from country as the leader of this cult after the referendum and the sabotage activities of the cult including various measures for worsening the situation in the early days of the revolution shows that the name of Iranian opposition group is quite contrary to the nature of this terrorist group. Many international documents like Human Rights Watch report of May 2005 and US National Defense Institute report of 2009 along with the confessions of the defected members disclose the dangers of this terrorist cult to the global security. The agents of MKO have murdered more than 12000 Iranians and thousands of Iraqis. The assassination of 7 American counselors, high-jacking, armed robbery and attacks against the military units or civilians are among the other crimes of the MKO.
The second issue is the importance of Ashraf Camp for the MKO terrorist cult. The question is that why MKO leaders should make such a great deal of effort for keeping the members in Ashraf base? Why have the doors of Ashraf never been opened to the families of the members? Why are the members of this cult being kept as captives, being prevented from outside world? In other words, the Ashraf base, as a cultic structure, imposes inhuman features on its members which manifest the true identity of the cult.
The obstinacy of the MKO leaders in protecting the Ashraf Base should be sought in the following issues: the MKO finds its survival in resorting to various techniques like suppression of any suspicion and resistance through which it can give a new sense of attachment. It is an issue which frequently comes along with suppressing common emotional human senses and feelings. In this regard, removing the non-cultic ideas by repeating some slogans or limited phrases, the cult leaders try to deny the previous beliefs and establish some new values in which the cult is at the center and every instrument for attaining the defined goals is legitimate. Setting up the principles of a cult, any sense of personal judgment or valuation, individual decision or thinking are all denied and blind obedience is being developed between members. Wearing uniforms, confessing the internal drawbacks or any sense of doubt, isolation from the outside world, families and friends, exaggerating the faults and sins… are all among the common techniques that cults resort to for protecting their nature.
For the same reason the MKO terrorist group keeps its members in a socially and mentally isolated environment in order to pull out the members’ abilities to think and make decisions. The leaders of this terrorist cult are completely aware of the role of Ashraf camp in preserving the cultic structure of MKO and their authority over members. Therefore they have decided to keep the Camp by any possible way. In doing so, many capabilities have been displayed by MKO like the self-immolation of members or throwing them in front of the Iraqi vehicles with the aim of exposing the ability of the cult in degenerating the members and sacrificing them.
Based on the above, the necessity for the dissolution of Ashraf Camp as a cultic structure which imposes inhuman features upon its members, becomes obvious. Then the best efforts should be made in order to return back these members to the bosom of the family, relatives and society. Although the US department of State reported that its aim is to dissolve the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization which was involved in terrorist activities and to prevent it from rebuilding as a terrorist organization, but practically the coalition forces did not encourage the members to defect the group. They even violated many items of the Geneva Conventions in which the appropriate ways for the dissolution of this terrorist cell and reducing its power, were considered permissible.
According to the anti-democratic history of this group which is based on Marxism, the consecutive electoral failures and people’s disapproval in first Consultative Assembly elections, and their refusal of the constitution, one can understand the anti-human nature of this group.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986 and joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam to kill thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers. It was funded by Saddam Hussein and helped the Iraqi dictator to violently suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country in 1991. These measures were conducted to strengthen the power of Saddam Hussein. Therefore, most of the Iraqi people consider the MKO as the private army of Saddam which acted on behalf of the Iraqi army against the people. The Iraqi people call for an investigation into all the crimes of the Iraqi dictator and accordingly the MKO as his tool in suppressions. People are now emphasizing on the expulsion of this group, as the ally of the former Iraqi dictator, from their country. People of the Al-Khalis city of Iraq have also complained against the MKO for committing crimes and seizing their lands. Meanwhile, the ratifications of the Iraqi parliament are supporting these legal demands. The people of the Diyala province have held many demonstrations for accelerating the expulsion of the MKO from Iraq and trial of its leaders. The resolution adopted in December 2003 by the Iraqi governmental council specifically asks for the MKO’s exit from Iraq. The Iraqi authorities have repeatedly emphasized on this stance too.
Having mentioned a few of the features and measures of this cult, we hope that fighting against terrorism would step into its correct path in which the Iranians, Iraqis, Kuwaitis and even Americans whose families were killed by the terrorists of this cult could achieve their rights. Also we urge the international authorities to take into consideration the way of confronting this cult which degrades its members and to call for Ashraf camp’s immediate dissolution. We wish to see the day when the incarcerated members of Ashraf Camp freely live a happy life with their families.
Three defected members of the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) have given an account of their ordeal during their stay at Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
The spokesperson of the Iraqi defense ministry, General Mohammed al-Askari, said in a Tuesday press conference in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad that the three former MKO members escaped from Camp Ashraf, the terrorist group’s headquarters in Iraq, and surrendered to the Iraqi security forces, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The official said that the defected members have provided the Iraqi government with the evidence required to shut down the camp according to the international laws.
The former members of the terrorist group say the residents of Camp Ashraf are completely cut off from the outside world, and are tortured and traumatized, but are also afraid to escape.
Having lived in misery and under pressure for many years, Maryam Sanjabi, one of the MKO deserters, surrendered herself to the Iraqi forces deployed near the camp last week.
“None of the residents of Camp Ashraf have the right to contact their families… The only thing that can separate a member from the MKO is death,” she said.
“The leaders of the camp have spent millions of dollars to train the residents of the camp how to launch attacks and even encounter the Iraqi security forces,” Sanjabi added.
Another former MKO member, Abdullatif Shadvari, who escaped from the camp two months ago, earlier said, “The punishment of those who try to escape from Camp Ashraf… is execution.”
On April 8, 34 people were reportedly killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and MKO members residing in Camp Ashraf in Diyala province.
Iraqi forces say there is evidence that the people have been killed by the organization itself.
On April 11, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the cabinet is determined to shut down the camp.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraqi executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up Camp Ashraf in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border.
More than 3,000 MKO members are residing at the camp. In addition, the MKO sends elements to Iran on spy and terrorist missions.
The organization is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
Following the overthrow of Saddam in 2003, the Iraqi government has set numerous deadlines for the terrorist group to leave the country but MKO has managed to maintain its base due to US backing.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, and is responsible for numerous terrorist acts against both Iranians and Iraqis.
Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking its expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government against such a move.
Download Ex-MKO members recount ordeal in Iraq
The spokesperson of the Iraqi defense ministry said members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, MKO, escaped Camp Ashraf and surrendered themselves to the Iraqi forces.
He said the defected members have given useful information and the Iraqi government now has the required evidence to shut down the camp.
In the press conference that was organized by the Iraqi defense ministry, the defected MKO members said since the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the leaders of the organization have changed their strategies and turned the camp into a prison and the residents of the camp are completely cut off from the outside world.
They also said since 2003, the leaders of the camp have trained the members to encounter the Iraqi forces if they tried to enter the camp. The said MKO ringleaders are using torture and pressure on their own members, barring them from leaving the organization and joining their families.
The former MKO members said many residents of Camp Ashraf, who are under immense pressure, want to escape but are afraid and unsure of the future. The said scores of MKO members have been killed by the organization recently.
On April 8, 34 people were reportedly killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and MKO members residing in the camp north of the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces claim that according to evidence, these people have been killed by the organization itself.
The group fled Iran to Iraq in 1986, and set up Camp Ashraf in Diyala near the Iranian border. The MKO has carried out many acts of terror against Iranians and cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community
Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government.
Wisam al-Bayati
Reports coming out of Camp Ashraf point to the inhumane treatment of residents by the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), which has recently engaged in an exchange of fire with Iraqi security forces.
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| The punishment of those who try to escape from Camp Ashraf… is death and execution,” Shadvari explained |
“I worked with the organization for 25 years… during these years I could not contact my family… using the phone, cell-phone, Internet, other mass media and even listening to the radio is forbidden in the organization,” Abdullatif Shadvari, a former MKO members said.
Shadvari escaped Camp Ashraf two month ago and surrendered himself to Iraqi forces.
“The punishment of those who try to escape from Camp Ashraf… is death and execution,” Shadvari explained.
Shadvari added that the only way of exiting Camp Ashraf is through escaping, “and escaping requires three or four months of preparation… if you are arrested while escaping they will put you in a room for three or four years, and will not hand you to Iraqi forces.”
He said many of his friends at the camp suffer from similar problems and “during the past eight-nine years no international organization has talked with members individually to perhaps help them out of this situation.”
Shadvari believes many residents of Camp Ashraf, who are under immense pressure, want to escape but are afraid and unsure of the future.
In response to a question about why the MKO keeps residents imprisoned, Shadvari explained that if people exit the camp the organization would fall apart.
The former MKO member also said that marriage is forbidden at Camp Ashraf, and male residents are not even allowed to speak to women.
On April 8, 34 people were reportedly killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and MKO members residing in Camp Ashraf in Diyala Province.
Iraqi forces claim that according to evidence, these people have been killed by the organization itself.
On April 11, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the cabinet is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Saddam Hussein, and set up Camp Ashraf in Diyala near the Iranian border.
More than 3,000 MKO members are residing at Camp Ashraf. In addition to cooperating with US soldiers in Iraq, the MKO sends elements to Iran on spy and terrorist missions.
The organization is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
The MKO has carried out numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government.
Anne Singleton from Iran-Interlink visited Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) in the wake of violent clashes between MEK loyalists and Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi commander in charge of the camp showed some of the pre-manufactured missiles used by the MEK as they attacked Iraqi soldiers at the base.
It is thought that up to 200 MEK members loyal to Massoud Rajavi took part in the violence. It is not known how many of the 3400 residents at the camp continue as members of the terrorist group.
Human Rights organisations have called for an independent investigation into events at the camp.
Singleton visited the camp at the start of a week of meetings with Iraqi officials to demand that the organisational infrastructure of the group be dismantled, and that the leaders are prosecuted under Iraqi and international law. The remaining residents should be enabled to determine their own futures without pressure from the MEK leaders. Their families should be involved to help in this process. Over 1000 Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) residents have residency or citizenship rights in Europe and North America. The embassies of these countries can facilitate their return.
Detailed reports will follow soon
Large metal missiles pre-manufactured by MEK in readiness for violent clashes with Iraqi military
MEK used different coloured headgear to coordinate place and timing of pre-planned actions
Small metal missiles catapulted at soldiers and observers from inside the camp by Rajavi loyalists
Mr. Ali Abdi succeeded to escape Rajavi’s Cult in January 2011. He joined the families who are on strike at Ashraf gates. Mr. Abdi was taken as a war prisoner by Iraqi forces in 1985 when he was a service-man of Iranian army. In 1988 he was recruited by MKO agent, Mehdi Abrishamchi . Since he was sick and tired of hard life in Iraqi prisons, he was deceived by MKO’s propaganda and entered Camp Ashraf.
Mr.Abdi:"Previously we had no patrolling post in our units, but nowadays ,there are 6 of the most loyal members who always patrol the units and a duty officer supervises them . The members have lost their entire confidence to the group and their minds face a lot of contradictions. They should report their contradictory thoughts every day so the leaders doubt every one and fear their escape. ".."families presence at Ashraf gates has enormously impressed members but the group heads have completely blocked any runaway way."
