The recruitment and use of child soldiers by any armed group is a violation of international law, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts. The recruitment and use of child soldiers by the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) has been documented by human rights organizations and international bodies, including Human Rights Watch and the United Nations.<\/p>\n
These reports detail instances of children being subjected to military training, ideological indoctrination and participation in operations against Iran. The practice is a clear violation of international law, which defines a child soldier as any person under 18 years of age who is part of any regular and irregular armed force or group in any capacity.<\/p>\n
The MEK has consistently denied these documents, claiming that individuals under 18 were not involved in combat and that minors in their camps were there for educational purposes!
\nHowever, testimonies from former child soldiers of the MEK and independent investigations contradict the denials, providing evidence of the systematic use of children in their ranks.<\/p>\n
Amir Yaghmai, former child soldier of the MEK is one of the first individuals who testified against the MEK. He was of the four children of Mujahed parents whose story was documented in Sara Moin\u2019s documentary, Children of Camp Ashraf.<\/p>\n
Moin\u2019s documentary highlights the experience of Amir as a child soldier, detailing his life within the MEK\u2019s cult-like structure and the psychological impact on his upbringing. Amir also began writing his story on X social network.<\/p>\n
This part of his memoirs indicates how the MEK child soldiers were manipulated by the group authorities and eventually emotionally dependent on the arms and ammunitions of the group\u2019s army. Based on Amir\u2019s testimony, when the US military wanted to disarm the MEK in 2003, arms had been so vital to the MEK members that a female member (a mother) handed her child soldier son to the American Colonel in exchange for the arms!<\/p>\n
Amir Yaghmai writes:
\n\u201cA female commander named Leila \u2013 who had sent me to Iraq from Paris \u2013 came forward, dragged one of the teenagers towards the colonel and shouted: \u2018Please! Take my son, but don\u2019t take our tanks! We need them for freedom!\u2019 The boy, Amin, found himself between the Mujahideen and the Americans, looking at his mother and the Americans in amazement, not knowing which way to go. It was a strange scene, beyond this world as we know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amir quotes another child soldier named Hanif who cried at the American Colonel, \u201cPeel my skin me alive! Break my teeth! But don\u2019t take my tank!\u201d
\nChild soldiers of extremist groups like the MEK develop a profound emotional dependency on their arms due to the complex interplay of psychological mind control. After years of isolation at Camp Ashraf, weapon had become a source of security in highly insecure and threatening situations. The MEK\u2019s ideology always glorified armed struggle, imbuing weapons with a sacred or heroic significance, with had been deepened the Child soldier\u2019s emotional bonds with their arms. This dependency made disarmament an extremely challenging for MEK members in particular child soldiers.<\/p>\n
Mazda Parsi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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