The Rt. Hon. MP David Jones and Hon. House of Commons member Bob Blackman on Thursday, 23 February, met with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). During their meeting, the British representatives discussed the role of the Resistance Units and the organized resistance in Iran, who have been working to organize protests and resist suppression by the Iranian regime. 

 

The Iranian regime has been conducting terrorist activities and plotting in Albania for several years. It has focused on this tiny nation in Europe because it has become the home to the Iranian Resistance after the release of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) members from Campy Liberty / Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

By Jennifer Jones-Kelley

On Saturday, September 5, the MEK held an online event celebrating the 55th anniversary of its founding at Ashraf 3, its headquarters in Albania. The event was live-streamed around the world and included speeches from MEK Secretary General Zahra Merrikhi, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect Maryam Rajavi, and representatives of over 300 Iranian groups from all over the world.

Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK celebrates 55th founding anniversary#Iran#MEKhttps://t.co/J3tuWo4NEm

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 5, 2020

The prevailing theme of the day was the MEK’s continued determination to end the clerical dictatorship and bring democracy to Iran. Speakers paid homage to the founders and leaders of the MEK and vowed to carry on their work.

The following are highlights from the day’s speakers:

Badri Pourtabakh

MEK Deputy Secretary-General

“Our deepest respect and homage to the founders of this organization. They paved a new way in the history of our nation. The way of struggling against dictatorship and fundamentalism. Their names will forever shine in our history.”

“Our organization proved that the fundamentalists ruling Iran do not represent our nation and people. The PMOI/MEK is the continuation of 120 years of struggle for freedom in Iran. The MEK has stayed true to the tradition of the struggle for freedom and protected its legacy.”

“With the Resistance Units and ongoing uprisings in Iran, we will surely fulfill the dream of the Iranian people to achieve freedom and democracy.”

Zahra Merrikhi

MEK Secretary-General

“Despite the spread of the coronavirus, we are seeing each other virtually. But we cannot see another part of this gathering, namely our rebellious friends inside Iran, especially the enchained and imprisoned dissidents, and particularly, MEK members and sympathizers, as well as the brave Resistance Units who are resisting in the prisons regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”

“The reality is that since 1971, the MEK, under repeated onslaughts by the Shah and the mullahs’ regime, has been on the verge of being totally destroyed many times. But, it has risen from its ashes time and again.”

“Khomeini’s ideology and the velayat-e faqih (absolute rule) have no other role than to enslave the people.

“Look at the questions Khomeini’s ‘Death Commissions’ asked prisoners in 1988. Amnesty International published them.

‘Are you willing to condemn the MEK and its leadership?

‘Are you willing to spy on your former comrades and collaborate with intelligence agents?

‘Are you willing to become a member of the firing squads?

‘Are you willing to hang a MEK member?’”

“The MEK’s response to these conditions has always been ever further sacrificing, honesty and selflessness and saying yes to the resistance for the overthrow of the regime.”

“Our rebellious friends and Ashrafis, those who have come a long way in the company of the MEK and sacrificed their lives and everything they had, understand these words with flesh and bone. From providing the expenses of this movement to moving past crises, storms blow, and conspiracies, Iranian communities across the world upheld the dignity and name of Iran and Iranians in different countries through their support, their protests, strikes, and demonstrations. They awakened the conscience of humanity. They were the friends of the difficult days of siege, attacks, and missiles. They took part in the movement that seeks justice for the martyrs by knocking on closed doors and opening the locks.”

“Owing to the sacrifices [of the MEK’s martyrs], today, the MEK is stronger, more solidified, and more cohesive than ever before. It has become the beacon of hope for the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and establish freedom in our fettered nation.

“It is not without reason that the regime’s leaders constantly warn of the expansion of popular support for the MEK and the role played by the MEK’s Resistance Units in organizing the uprising and the anti-government protests. The mullahs know better than anyone else that they have been defeated in every aspect of the face-off against the MEK, and that the day is not far until the Iranian people will rise up and topple them. Indeed, the Iranian people and the Resistance, led by the MEK, will overthrow the regime and nothing can prevent that from coming into fruition.”

Maryam Rajavi

NCRI President-elect

“The Shah, relying on his ruthless secret police, backed by world powers and superpowers, and clinging to his dream of a ‘great civilization,’ was finally toppled as a result of the Iranian people’s uprising.”

Today, we learned that the regime has changed their place of detention. This is what we say, and what our people and the world public say: Do not execute! Free them! #StopExecutionsInIran pic.twitter.com/xvs4OOwJpm

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 5, 2020

“By the same token, the mullahs will be overthrown by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance, the great army of freedom, even though they rely on their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and despite their inhuman suppression and massacres while clinging to their dream of establishing an “Islamic caliphate.”

“What has stood fast, firm and proud, and will continue to do so, is the Iranian people’s Resistance for freedom, with the MEK at its epicenter.”

“We honor the great founders of the MEK, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Asghar Badizadegan who took the initiative for this historic breakthrough.”

“How inspiring it is that the Iranian Resistance’s Leader, Massoud Rajavi, revived and revitalized this organization despite the crushing blows of two dictatorships, leading it to the pinnacle of its struggle against the reactionary mullahs.”

When there is not a qualified leadership organization, there could be no fundamental change or development. As in the time of the Constitutional Revolution, people rose up and compelled the authoritarian monarch to accept the constitution, but there was no guarantee. #Iran pic.twitter.com/VqmBVLl5k8

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 5, 2020

“Even today, we see that the clerical regime is admitting it in a thousand different ways that its main problem is the structure of the PMOI/MEK. So, it must be obliterated and beheaded to guarantee the regime’s survival. This is the common goal pursued by all the regime’s mercenaries.”

“The uprisings in Iran since December 2017 up until now clearly demonstrate that the protests are the scene of public support for the views and policies of the PMOI/MEK, especially among the younger generation. They are also the venue for the PMOI/MEK to make progress and the place for increasing activities by Resistance Units.”

By Jennifer Jones-Kelley

Part-1

MEK supporters gathered on Sunday in a collective call for justice for the victims of the 1988 Massacre on the second day of the Free Iran gathering, which is being held primarily online this year. Day One drew thousands of attendees from 102 countries in five continents, who streamed the event from 30,000 connection points. Supporters also streamed the event from several in-person gatherings and rallies in world capitals.

After the 1953 coup, Dr. Mossadeq who had been inspired by the Mojahedin of Algeria, was hoping for the emergence of Mojahedin of Iran who would "sacrifice everything they have" to achieve a free and independent nation. #Iran #FreeIran2020 https://t.co/fiPTzsLFJl

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 19, 2020

In the summer of 1988, regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the execution of all MEK political prisoners in Iran. Throughout a single summer, 30,000 MEK supporters were executed after sham trials lasting only minutes and buried in unmarked mass graves. The perpetrators of this crime against humanity have never faced justice, and many have risen to the highest levels of the regime. The position of Minister of Justice is currently held by notorious Death Commissioner Ebrahim Raisi, who personally ordered the deaths of thousands of MEK members. The MEK and National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) have called on the United Nations to investigate the 1988 Massacre and refer its perpetrators to an international tribunal for crimes against humanity.

The following are some highlights from Day Two:

Survivors Tell Their Stories

“My mother was a political prisoner, and I was imprisoned with her many times. The second time I was only six years old. I remember the blindfolded prisoners with bleeding feet sitting outside of the interrogation rooms. I remember the voices of the prisoners shouting and crying while they were being tortured.”

Ms. Damona Taavoni on her ordeals as a child in Iran's prisons and her parents being political prisoners in the mullahs' dungeons.#1988Massacrehttps://t.co/XOkToiKGhE

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 19, 2020

“I say to Khamenei, Raisi, Rouhani, and the rest of those who were involved in the 1988 Massacre and are still in power: Fear these names. The 30,000 have multiplied, and you hear their echo every day in the streets of Iran, and the horrific crimes you have committed only add to the determination to overthrow your regime. The day will come soon when you will be held accountable for your crimes.”

“There is no such thing as a court, a lawyer, or due process in the prisons of the regime. Everything is arbitrary, and the fate of the prisoners is decided by the interrogators and torturers. Tens of thousands of Mojahedin have been murdered and their secrets have been buried with their tortured bodies.”

Henri LeClerc

French Human Rights Lawyer

“We human rights activists try to help those who defend liberty. Regarding Iran, there’s a chain of crimes against humanity. Not only those who have been executed but those who have disappeared. We don’t even know where their bodies lie. Their memories are our struggle today. We must know what happened to them. Executions are still ongoing in Iran.”

Maryam Rajavi

NCRI President-elect

“The NCRI alternative is a good yardstick and a mirror image, reflecting the struggles and resistance of the past 40 years. This truthfully shows why the regime’s demonization and animosity against the PMOI/MEK and the terrorism directed against the Iranian Resistance are carried out on such an enormous scale and what the objectives behind them are.”

Livestreaming of virtual conference:
32nd anniversary of the #1988Massacre, an unpunished crime against humanity
The Free #Iran Global Summit’s Call-for-Justice conference
Ashraf 3 – July 19, 2020- 1900 CEST #FreeIran2020https://t.co/r2JqQWdJHM

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 19, 2020

“By his fatwa sanctioning the 1988 massacre, Khomeini intended to annihilate the generation of the PMOI/MEK.”

“The sacred blood of those martyrs, particularly those slain in 1988, are today roaring in Iran, giving rise to generation after generation of rebellious youths who are motivated and inspired by it… The PMOI/MEK members, who walked to the gallows and sacrificed their lives by the thousands for the cause of freedom, are now the topic of discussion in the Iranian society.”

“For 40 years, the mullahs have been viciously crucifying the PMOI/MEK and the Iranian Resistance, particularly Massoud Rajavi, every day with the barrage of their lies and unfounded allegations, just like they killed and tortured our people and barbarically destroyed Iran.

“But Massoud Rajavi’s name inspires the rebellion and the fight for freedom, just as his name inspired the perseverance and resistance of political prisoners during the 1988 massacre… there will come a day when his dreams of a free Iran will come true. Yes, the day will come when the flowers of freedom and popular sovereignty will bloom in Iran.”

Last week, Iran’s democratic resistance movement was lucky to win in court a case against a media outlet that had continually repeated false allegations concerning the Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) Iran’s key opposition. All the lies and misinformation were intended to harm the MEK and its partner the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Hamburg Regional Court endorses the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)’s a lawsuit against the German daily, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) for defaming The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran).

On Wednesday, December 25, on the Eve of Christmas, Maryam Rajvi, the leader of Iran’s opposition, attended the Christmas-Eve mass in Tirana. The mass was held at the Central Catholic Cathedral of Tirana, Saint Paul Metropolitan Archdiocese.

The Iranian regime has responded to the continued uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon, tightening sanctions against regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his inner circle, and the rise of the Iranian Resistance and anti-regime protests in Iran with yet another smear campaign against the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

Asking #BBC:
CULT!! What kind of cult is this, while #MEK invites hundreds of prominent international politicians including @RudyGiuliani and Albanian President @ilirmetazyrtar
Read more about BBC #FakeNewshttps://t.co/GJlJgazCQp #Iran #FakeNewsMedia https://t.co/tChlFLnrB6 pic.twitter.com/3Rme0KEcAM

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 12, 2019

The most recent demonization campaign against the MEK and the Iranian Resistance is focused on eliminating the appearance of a viable alternative to the regime in order to convince the West that preserving the policy of appeasement is the only feasible path forward. A recent hit piece published by BBC, which used testimony from “former MEK members,” is the latest example of this strategy in action.

Unreliable Sources

The BBC report is riddled with falsehoods about the MEK, but the biggest problem with the piece is its reliance on “former MEK members” as sources. Numerous previous investigations have established that these so-called former members are recruited by the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and work as agents of the regime. A similar report on the German website Der Spiegel was taken down last year after a court found overwhelming evidence that the allegations against the MEK they presented in their article were fabricated by MOIS agents as a means of tarnishing the MEK’s reputation in Albania.

Helping mullahs to escape the deadly crisis they are facing these days, once again #BBC showed up as a mouthpiece of the religious fascist regime ruling #Iranhttps://t.co/RUuZcxjIN1#MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/U3N4OY3CCe

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 12, 2019

German and Dutch security services have both warned in recent years that the Iranian regime uses individuals posing as “former members of the MEK” to conduct espionage activities and to set the stage for terrorist operations.

On October 23, 2019, the Albanian Police announced that details of an Iranian regime terrorist plot against MEK members living in Albania had been uncovered due to the services of “former members.” This information likely saved lives. This information was excluded entirely from the BBC report, despite its relevance and currency. She also failed to mention that the regime’s ambassador and station chief were expelled from Albania last year because of their terrorist activities against the MEK.

False Claims about Ashraf-3

The Iranian regime has long claimed that the MEK is a cult that brainwashes its members. This diverts attention from its constant terrorist threats against members living at the MEK’s headquarters, which was recently relocated to Albania. The MEK hosted 350 dignitaries from 47 countries this summer at  Ashraf-3, their new home. Guests were invited to see how the Ashrafis live up close and to dispel any rumors they may have heard. They were able to see that MEK members are not brainwashed, refused access to the Internet, or denied freedom of choice. There have been no mass defections.

BBC reporter Linda Pressly and several of her colleagues were also invited to visit Ashraf-3, and they spent several hours speaking privately with members and traveling freely on the grounds. Ms. Pressly said in her report that the MEK refused to be interviewed for her program, but she neglected to mention that she visited Ashraf-3 and that MEK representatives chose not to be part of her program that was wittingly or unwittingly part of an MOIS script. They also noted their objection to appearing alongside individuals whose objective and mission is collecting intelligence and assisting the Iranian regime to conduct terrorist operations against the MEK.

Lies about Members

The report contained a disturbing fabrication about prisoner-of-war Gholam-Ali Mirzaie, claiming that the MEK did not inform his that his family had come to visit him from Iran while he was in Iraq with the MEK. This blatant falsehood does not hold water. Representatives from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as the U.S. military, were present at the MEK camp in Iraq and accessible to everyone there, so it would not have been possible to prevent anyone from knowing about a visitor.

Mirzaie was released on September 4, 2016, and sent to Albania to live as he pleased. Once he arrived in Albania, he requested in writing to join the MEK.

As for “former member” Hassan Heyrani, his claims against the MEK must be tempered with the knowledge that he was expelled from the organization due to “intelligence, security concerns, and his treason.” Heyrani apologized for his actions and appealed the decision in his own handwriting. The documents supporting this were provided to the BBC prior to their report.

Helping mullahs to escape the deadly crisis they are facing these days, once again BBC showed up as a mouthpiece of the religious fascist regime ruling Iran. In an article on 11 November 2019, BBC tried to echo the four-decade false allegations against the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

• While uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon continues and the “strategic depth” of mullahs are undermined in these two countries,
• While international sanctions, particularly, against Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, and his inner circle, is intensified,
• While the Iranian people’s protests intensify,
• And while the MEK resistance units’ activities are growing

In a frustrated effort to tarnish MEK’s portrait and making it appears as though there is no alternative to the Iranian regime and that the West is better served by continuing the policy of appeasement, the mullahs have stepped up their demonizing campaign against the Iranian resistance and the MEK.

Again, the BBC on behalf of the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), tried to run a demonizing campaign under the disgraced banner of “former MEK members”.

The mudslinging by the current functionaries of MOIS, disguising themselves as MEK’s “former members,” have repeatedly been exposed by irrefutable documents and evidence, and condemned, as was the case in a German court’s ruling against Der Spiegel for regurgitating similar smears.

It is worth mentioning that, the Albanian Police exposed the details of the Iranian regime’s terrorist plots against the MEK members in Albania through the services of “former members”, on October 23, 2019.

What Explains Latest #BBC's Anti-#MEK Tirade in the Service of #Iran Mullahshttps://t.co/miqrDeG8DA#FakeNews #BlackListMOIS pic.twitter.com/B0MyH4HCsf

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 12, 2019

The BBC has tried to portrait the MEK as a cult, as the MOIS has tried it for the past four decades. Last summer, some 350 dignitaries from 47 countries spent five days at Ashraf-3, the home of MEK members in Albania, and saw everything up close and personal. So, there is no need to add anything but noting the remarks of the Former Mayor of New York City and the US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani when he referred the MEK members saying: “These are people who are dedicated to freedom”

He added: “And if you think that’s a cult, then there’s something wrong with you,”

It was not just Mayor Giuliani, dozens of political dignitaries from different political diversities have repeatedly argued the tag of “cult” in the past forty years.

Parroting the propaganda of the notorious Intelligence service of a barbarian regime, of course, is not an honor for BBC; however, the Iranian regime’s critical situation has compelled BBC to lend a hand to the mullahs.

@HanifJazayeri This is not a surprise. It has become endemic. BBC did exactly the same thing in 2003, 2006, and 2011. They have a habit of rushing to the aid of the mullahs when they are on the ropes and when the Resistance is on the ascent. @iran_policy https://t.co/lytU6NJ8S0

— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) November 11, 2019

These efforts against the MEK are in vain, however, the growing popularity of the MEK and the uprising against the Iranian regime in Iraq and Lebanon, is the best reply to the demonizing campaign against the MEK by both the mullahs and the BBC.

The BBC Radio 4 and the World Service broadcasted a bias and unsubstantiated report about the Iranian resistance and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI-MEK).

The report is based on the accounts and interviews of the so-called “former members of MEK”. It is well known that for many years the Iranian regime has been pursuing its demonizing campaign and terrorist activities against the MEK through so-called “former members”

“The mudslinging by the current functionaries of the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), disguising themselves as PMOI’s “former members,” have repeatedly been exposed by irrefutable documents and evidence, and condemned, as was the case in a German court’s ruling against Der Spiegel for regurgitating similar smears. The repetitive scheme by the MOIS to tarnish the image of the PMOI in Albania is intended to set the stage for more terrorist acts against the Iranian Resistance,” The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Security and Counter-terrorism Committee’s (NCRICT) statement reads. 

The main purpose of the demonization campaign of the Iranian regime against its main opposition is to pursue terrorist plots against them. “On October 23, 2019, the Albanian Police exposed the details of the clerical regime’s terrorist plots against the PMOI members in Albania through the services of “former members.” In her report, however, the BBC journalist makes no reference to this development, the most important news in Albania regarding the PMOI in recent weeks and months, because she attempts to balance her story with comments from the Iranian regime’s operatives. Last year, Albania expelled the Iranian regime’s ambassador and the MOIS station chief in Tirana for espionage and terrorist activities.” NCRICT statement reads. 

The report also portrays if the Iranian resistance and MEK members are kept in a remote area in an autocracy country and no outsider has any access to them, while they are in Europe and hundreds of international dignitaries visit their home, and the same reporter was there for over 5 hours and was offered to stay there as long as she wanted, privately talk to anyone and visit anywhere she so desired.

“Last summer, some 350 dignitaries from 47 countries spent five days at Ashraf-3, the home of PMOI members in Albania, and saw everything up close and personal. Thus, the absurdities rehashed by the BBC, such as brainwashing, lack of access to the Internet, the denial of freedom of choice to PMOI members, and the defection of 300 or 400 members from the organization in Albania are utterly false and designed to mollify the criminal mullahs ruling Iran,”

“In her report, the BBC’s Linda Pressly says that the PMOI refused to be interviewed for her program. She has deliberately chosen not to report that she and another BBC colleague were the guests of the PMOI at their home, Ashraf-3, for five-and-a-half hours. During the meeting, the PMOI representatives told her that she could stay at Ashraf-3 as long as she wanted, privately talk to anyone and visit anywhere she so desired. The PMOI representatives also told her not to expect the PMOI to be part of a program that was wittingly or unwittingly based on an MOIS script. They also told her that they should not be expected to be part of a program that also included individuals whose objective and mission is collecting intelligence and assisting the Iranian regime to conduct terrorist operations against the PMOI. No one would have criticized German, British, French, and American freedom fighters and patriots for refusing to appear alongside Nazi collaborators.” NCRICT statement reads. 

It is shameful that BBC by its fake news is helping the Iranian regime to turn a security threat into political dissidents, and demonize them in a well-known method of the Iranian regime. No wonder why Iranian people call BBC as Ayatollah BBC, but the question is why they are doing this now, and why the regime needs this propaganda and fake news at this moment.

“The continuing uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon have undermined the strategic depth and one of the strategic pillars of the ruling theocracy ruling Iran. Intensifying international sanctions, in particular against the regime’s supreme leader and his inner circle, coupled with the rise in the Iranian people’s protests and the Resistance Units’ activities not only highlight the reality that time is rapidly running out on the religious fascism ruling Iran, but also pose an unprecedented challenge to its survival.

Under such circumstances, the mullahs have stepped up their terrorist activities and stepped up their campaign of demonization against the Iranian Resistance and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in order to make it appears as though that there is no alternative to their regime and that the West is better served by continuing the policy of appeasement. The religious dictatorship’s desperation cloaked under the disgraced banner of “former PMOI members,” this time through Radio BBC 4 and the World Service, represents one such effort. “