Cross-party MPs at the United Kingdom Parliament have used an Early Day Motion to raise attention about the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and their role in the suppression of the Iranian people.

EDM 2333 strongly condemns the IRGC’s role in oppressing the Iranian people, particularly during anti-government protests, and describes the IRGC as a serious threat to the security, freedom, and welfare of the Iranian people, as well as the peace and stability in the Middle East and the world at large.

The British MPs emphasized that the IRGC and the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) are destructive and terrorist actors, citing a long history of their deadly operations, export of terrorism, murder of foreign nationals, and assassination of Iranian dissidents, particularly members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

One case they cited to demonstrate this was the foiled bomb plot against the NCRI’s annual “Free Iran” grand gathering in Paris on June 2018, where 100,000 gathered to support the 10-point plan of NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi to bring freedom to Iran.

The British MPs called on their government to blacklist the IRGC and the MOIS as a foreign terrorist organization, something they say is in the best interests of the Iranian people, the UK, and the international community.

Bob Blackman, the primary sponsor of EDM 2333 and a major supporter of the MEK and NCRI, said in a statement: “The IRGC and MOIS stand at the center of regime’s domestic crackdown and efforts to create an international crisis with increased aggression in the region and terrorism in Europe as the popular protests across Iran that began last year are undermining the theocracy’s survival.”

Sir David Amess, co-chair of the British Committee for Iran Freedom (BCFIF), said: “The EDM, which many of my cross-party colleagues in the House of Commons and I supported, backs the call by NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi for the designation of IRGC and MOIS as terrorist entities and calls on the Government to proscribe these repressive organs as foreign terrorist organizations in their entirety.”

It is time for the British government and the European Union to listen to these MPs and the Iranian people and take a firm policy against the Regime by imposing sanctions on the IRGC and MOIS, especially given the role of these groups in taking hostage British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe and seizing a British oil tanker in international waters. It is right that they support the Iranian people’s uprising and their organized Resistance.

Staff Writer

 

Recent changes in the White House caused many reactions with different attitudes. Some still seeking appeasement policy toward Iranian regime took the advantage of this event to show their opposition to a firm policy vis-à-vis the world’s most active state sponsor of terror, religious fascism ruling Iran, and attacking the democratic opposition, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) to justify their support for the terrorist regime of Iran.

Jason Rezaian, a well-known advocator of an appeasement policy, in his Sep 10 Global Opinions column in Washington Post wrote: “The shake-up creates the first real opportunity for Trump to pursue a policy of engaging Iran.”

Mr. Shahin Gobadi, the MEK Press Spokesman in Paris, in an article entitled: “Misplaced and Premature jubilation by an apologist of the murderous mullahs of Iran” discusses this issue.

He challenges the Rezaian’s allegation about MEK and its popularity in Iran writing:

” How does Rezaian know of the true level of support that the MEK enjoys inside Iran under a totalitarian state? What is his measure of sufficient evidence for the MEK’s popularity in a society as complex and repressed as Iran? And how did he conclude that the MEK is reviled by Iranians in a country of over 80 million!? Who are his sources? The Iranian regime and its lobby in the west who want to insinuate that there is no viable alternative to the ruling theocracy and therefore, it must be engaged.”

” Rezaian’s absurd claim that MEK “can claim no popular support” loses muster in face of the facts on the ground. Outside Iran, where Iranians can express their views without the fear of being persecuted, tens of thousands of MEK supporters held major rallies in five major European capitals, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Stockholm, London and in Washington, DC to call for regime change. Indeed, the three-hour-long rally and march from the State Department to the White House, not only snarled traffic in the nation’s capital for several hours, but it also caught the attention of the mainstream media, save for the Post. Even the White House noticed the elaborate and well-organized rally. “What we want to do is stand with the Iranian people, thousands of whom gathered outside the White House on Friday, and tens of thousands of which, took to the streets last year in communities across Iran, we want to stand with them” Vice President Mike Pence told CBS’s Face the Nation on June 23, 2019.” Mr. Gobadi added.

The Spokesman of the MEK in Paris, argues that advocators of appeasing mullahs, including Rezaian, hardly can understand this reality that the religious dictatorial regime in Iran is in a strategic dead-end.

In conclusion, Mr. Gobadi writes: ” The era when the mullahs could forestall the crisis of being overthrown by relying on appeasement is over. The Iranian street will determine the fate the mullahs, especially since all the propaganda by the likes of Rezaian about Rouhani’s moderation has turned out to be hollow. And if past is prologue, the mullahs’ disastrous 40-year reign has proven that no amount of political and economic concessions will moderate the behavior of this regime. The troglodyte clerics only understand the language of decisiveness and “maximum pressure.”

A shorter version of Mr. Gobadi’s response to Razaian’s allegations appeared in the Washingtonpost.com on September 16.

Staff Writer

 

 

On September 13, Albanian President Ilir Meta visited Ashraf 3 in Albania, where over 3,000 members of the Iranian Resistance group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), have been safely relocated from Iraq.

The MEK members welcomed President Meta and Fatmir Mediu, who is chair of the Albanian Republican Party and Meta’s National Security Adviser, with open arms.

During President Meta’s visit, he met with President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi and they toured the exhibition detailing the 120 years of struggle for freedom in Iran. Then, he met with MEK members.

President Meta told the MEK members: “I had no idea about the extent of your sacrifice and the genocide you and your supporter have endured. Having the possibility to see so many people, women and children, massacred was shocking.”

#MaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/14MSMYeDUt

— Ilir Meta (@ilirmetazyrtar) September 16, 2019

He continued:  “This was also an indication of a widespread movement inside Iran and showed how tyrannical the regime is. This is really bad not only for the people of Iran but also for regional and global peace and stability…I was very impressed with the Ten-point Plan of Mrs. Rajavi because it is based on fundamental freedoms and will guarantee prosperity and democracy for the Iranian people. All of us here in Albania are united in our support for your efforts and determination.

These comments were, of course, welcomed by Rajavi, who said that the Iranian people will never forget Albania’s hospitality towards the MEK. She then praised Albania’s decisiveness over the Iranian Regime, most notably expelling the Regime’s ambassador for his involvement in terrorism. She said that Albania serves as a role model for other countries in this regard.

Rajavi then reiterated a fact that should no longer need to be underscored; that the Iranian Regime cannot be reformed and appeasement does not work. In fact, appeasing religious dictatorship only encourages more terrorism and fundamentalism. She stated that regime change by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance is the only way to achieve regional and international peace and stability.

Meeting with the President of Albanian, Ilir Meta at Ashraf 3 #Iran #FreeIranhttps://t.co/eXtXRRpYYz pic.twitter.com/D6hyM5M6J6

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 16, 2019

Before leaving, President Meta signed the guest book in memoriam of the Iranian Resistance’s martyrs’ at the exhibition.

He wrote: “It was an extraordinary experience for me to become acquainted with the unimaginable sacrifices for freedom and social justice of this movement… We will be proud that we did our best for you to enjoy freedom. Until then, this will be your home.

Stuff Writer

Members of the Voice of Iranian Women Association are facing increasing pressure from the regime’s judiciary and intelligence agencies, largely due to their participation in International Women’s Day gatherings earlier this year. They are facing a number of charges for their peaceful activism, including “promoting corruption and prostitution,” “formation of the Iranian Women Association,” “association and collusion against national security,” and “propaganda against the state.” The group’s members are currently either imprisoned and waiting in limbo or enduring escalating pressure from the regime’s judiciary and intelligence ministry.

Akram Nasirian and Nahid Shaqaqi

On September 4, 2019. Voice of Iranian Women Association members Akram Nasirian and Nahid Shaqaqi received summonses to report to the 2nd Branch

of the Prosecutor’s Office at Evin Prison on When they reported to the office on September 8th, they were informed that they bail had increased. Both women were freed after paying the higher bail bonds. The two women were arrested on April 2019 for giving speeches in Tehran on International Women’s Day and held for a month before being released on bail.

Mahboubeh Farahzadi

Retired teacher Mahboubeh Farahzadi, also a member of the Voice of Iranian Women Association, received a summons on September 3, 2019, to report to Prosecutor’s Office at Evin Prison. She was interrogated by regime agents for several hours there on September 8th.

Maryam Mohammadi

Another member of the Voice of Iranian Women Association, Maryam Mohammadi, is currently being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. She was arrested on July 8, 2019, in the city of Garmsar and placed in solitary confinement in Ward 209 in Evin Prison. Ward 209 is operated by the regime’s Intelligence Ministry. Political prisoners who are sent to this ward are interrogated and frequently tortured. After one month, Mohammadi was transferred to the Women’s Ward at Evin. Her currently legal status has not been determined.

Esrin Derkaleh

Voice of Iranian Women Association member Esrin Derkaleh has been detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison for more than 40 days. She was arrested on July 28, 2019, in Garmsar. She was also targeted for giving a speech in Tehran on International Women’s Day. Derkaleh was born in 1983 and is the mother of an 18-year-old child. Her legal status has also not been determined.

Leila Hosseinzadeh

On September 11, 2019, the attorney for imprisoned student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh announced that the regime prosecutors have filed a new charge against his client.

Hosseinzadeh is a graduate student in Anthropology, a member of Voice of Iranian Women Association, and the Secretary of the Student Central Council at Tehran University. She was also part of the International Women’s Day gathering in Tehran this spring and is currently serving a 30-month sentence in Evin Prison. She was convicted of “association and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state” on June 24, 2019, for participating in the peaceful rally for women’s rights. Hosseinzadeh will also be banned from leaving Iran for two years after the completion of her sentence

The new charge stems from her participation in a January 2019 birthday ceremony for another imprisoned student outside the Industrial Sharif University in Tehran.

Condemnation from the MEK

Maryam Rajavi accompanied by lawmakers, dignitaries and women rights activists in Conference “Iran Uprising and The Role of Women”- Paris – February 17, 2018#WomenForce4Change #Iran pic.twitter.com/kpNys2qtCj

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 17, 2018

The Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) strongly condemns the oppression of women under the misogynistic regime. The MEK and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) are committed to ending the twisted laws that silence women and force them into submission. The Iranian Resistance has women at the highest levels of leadership, with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi as its leader, because it recognizes that as the primary victims of the regime’s oppression, women are its strongest opponents.

Staff Writer

 

At least 177 protests took place in 57 cities, villages, and industrial regions in Iran during the month of August, according to reports from the people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) sources inside Iran. More than 21 people were sentenced to prison or lashes due to their participation in protests in August.

The following is a summary of the protests that took place in Iran during August:

Workers

Total number of protests: 83

Locations: 29 cities, commercial areas, and industrial towns in 20 provinces

Protesters: Forest rangers at the Shafavard Forest Company, workers in the Sisakht municipality, HEPCO workers in the city of Arak, Fasa Sugar Cube factory workers, and RAMCO (Rehabilitation & Maintenance Petrochemical Co.) workers in the city of Ahvaz.

#Iran RAMPCO workers gather in the southwestern city of Ahwaz to demand 6 months of delayed paychecks. The regime ignores the economic woes of Iranians even while most of the population live in poverty. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ySIzssPYvA

— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) August 24, 2019

The workers protested low and delayed wages, lack of job security, the dismissal of workers, non-renewal of contracts, and privatization.

Defrauded Credit Customers

Total number of protests: 12

Locations: 4 cities

Protesters: Defrauded customers of the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Caspian Credit Institution, Ramak Auto, Avizco Auto, Shadi Gold Institute, Adineh Complex, Persian Pars Auto, and the Kimia project.

The protesters demanded the return of their stolen savings.

Retirees

Total number of protests: 6

Locations: 4 cities

Protesters: Retirees of the Fars Province Telecommunications Company, the Nilo Tile factory, the Isfahan Telecommunication Company, and the Tehran metro, and pensioners in the northwestern province of Eastern Azerbaijan.

Teachers

Total number of protests:17

Locations: 8 cities in 8 provinces

Teachers protested low and unpaid wages, poor living conditions, the lack of official hiring status, and the arrest of their colleagues. Schools are currently on summer break, so these protests are noteworthy.

Other Protests

Total number of protests: 38

Locations: 28 cities in 19 provinces

Protesters: Employees of rural telecommunications; disabled Iranians; villagers in Hani Garmaleh, Kermanshah Province; and landowners in Mahmoud Abad, Mazandaran Province.

Hail to the brave teachers in #Iran who held protest gatherings to demand their basic rights. The mullahs’ rule is entwined with oppression and discrimination. Rights are to be earned, and as you cried out, no one should tolerate injustice and discrimination.

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) August 4, 2019

Hunger Strikes by Iranian Prisoners

Total number of hunger strikes: 13

Locations: 8 prisons in 7 cities

Prisoners who embarked on hunger strikes included :

• Akbar Gavili, a civil rights activist and former member of the Kurdistan Green Association, in protest of his arrest;
• female prisoners in Section 5 of Tehran’s Qarchak Prison, in protest of prison conditions;
• Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, and activist currently detained in Arak Prison, in protest of being held in quarantine;
• Kamran Darvish, a political prisoner in Orumieh Central Prison in protest of not being released on bail;
• Akbar Bagheri, a political prisoner currently detained in Greater Tehran Penitentiary in protest of his prison sentence, not receiving an appeal in the Supreme Court, not receiving medical attention, and being sent to Greater Tehran Prison;
• Ali Ashraf Parvaneh in protest of not being allowed to leave after 18 years in prison.
• Environmentalists Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Taher Ghadirian, Sepideh Kashani, Homan Jukar, and Nilofar Bayani in protest of their continued illegal temporary detention;
• Hamzeh Darvish, a Sunni prisoner currently being held in Rajaie Shahr Prison in protest of not being allowed to choose his lawyer and issues related to his legal case;
• Amir Nourzehi, an Afghan national currently held in Zahedan Prison in protest of prison officials’ refusal to tell him who filed charges against him.

The MEK salutes the brave protesters who continue to stand up to the mullahs despite the regime’s attempts to intimidate and suppress them.

Staff Writer

The recent European initiative to explore options for enticing the Iranian regime back into full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and to facilitate a possible US-Iran rapprochement, has provoked many questions. Does the Iranian regime have the capacity to act like a normal state, something the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has asked? And, what are the associated challenges that the mullahs face? This is the central question confronting the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei because it is tied to the regime’s survival.

.@SecPompeo with Karen Campbell of @NBC WTHR: "We want #Iran to be a normal nation. We want the people of Iran to be successful in changing the behavior of their leadership. When they do that, we’re happy to sit down at the table." https://t.co/TCG8QKf15V pic.twitter.com/AHKbZTuzEf

— Department of State (@StateDept) August 28, 2019

The current state of the Iranian regime

The current state of the regime is completely different than in 2015 when the JCPOA was signed between Tehran and the P5+1. This is because, first, the clerical regime is encircled by existential internal and external crises, and its strategic reserves are rapidly depleting. As these crises compound, the situation becomes increasingly more irreversible and fatal. Second, the policy of appeasement has failed, despite the shocking concessions doled out to the regime by the western powers. And third, the current US administration’s position toward the regime stands in stark contrast relative to its predecessor.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the mullahs’ president Hassan Rouhani dismissed a proposal presented by Europeans to save the 2015 nuclear deal and said the regime “will announce the third step, which is of incredible significance and will accelerate the activities of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.” This was in reference to a plan proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, that aimed at providing a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in return for the mullahs’ acceptance to refrain from adopting additional measures that violate the nuclear deal.

The regime’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said with respect to the so-called ‘third step’ that “it will be stronger than the first and second steps. … If we do not witness the necessary will from the European parties to return to their JCPOA commitments, we will take our third step.”

Regime officials know full well that when they implement further JCPOA violations, their circumstances will become much more precarious. However, they do not have many other options. Their remarks reveal their intentions to carry out nuclear blackmail with the aim of continuing their nuclear ambitions seeing this their only way out of the deepening internal crisis.

Having failed at piracy, Iran resorts to outright blackmail – deliver us $15 billion or we will further our nuclear developments. Sounds very similar to the threats Iran made a couple months back. It is becoming a pattern. #NuclearExtortion https://t.co/4FjC57wmsd

— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) September 4, 2019

Iran-US relations

There is no concrete evidence of a forthcoming thaw in US-Iran relations. This week, the US blacklisted what it called an “oil for terror” shipping network directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The US Treasury Department said in a statement on September 4, 2019: “The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against a large shipping network that is directed by and financially supports the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and its terrorist proxy Hizballah.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: “Iran continues to take provocative actions to destabilize the region and the world. Treasury’s action against this sprawling petroleum network makes it explicitly clear that those purchasing Iranian oil are directly supporting Iran’s militant and terrorist arm, the IRGC-Qods Force. … Our actions over the last two weeks should serve as a strong warning to anyone considering facilitating the Qods Force’s oil sales that there will be swift consequences.”

.@POTUS has made it clear that we are standing up to Iran’s provocative actions against the U.S. and our allies. We will continue to apply maximum pressure on Iran until it ceases sponsoring terror and its pursuit of nuclear weapons. https://t.co/PwoqiGVz2E

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) June 24, 2019

In truth, the Iranian regime desperately needs a deal. However, it is too fragile and unstable to endure its consequences. Owing to ongoing domestic protests and dire economic conditions, the regime is at the weakest point in its history, putting Khamenei at a significant impasse. Any conceivable retreat would encourage more popular demands and social protests, something that terrifies the unpopular and illegitimate clerical rulers the most.

Khamenei’s fears

Khamenei has repeatedly said that neither the US nor the regime seeks war. The only major source of panic for the Iranian regime is the homegrown opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), as well as the formidable political coalition of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which acts as the most viable democratic alternative to the theocracy. With the MEK’s capabilities to lead and organize national protests (as Khamenei himself publicly warned in January 2018) that is why over the past four decades, the top priority for the regime’s security policy has been to annihilate the MEK.

Staff Writer

Fifty- four years ago, the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), was founded by Mohammad Hanifnejad and two other young intellectuals, Saeed Mohsen and Ali Asghar Badizadegan. The three wanted to establish a Muslim, progressive, patriotic, and democratic organization. They were determined to pave the way for a democratic government to replace the Shah’s regime.

.@Maryam_Rajavi: By founding the #PMOI/#MEK three great men of Iran’s contemporary history‌‌ –Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen & Ali Asghar Badizadegan–‌‌‌did away with everything that was regressive, out-of-date and oppressive & replaced them with the progressive ideas.#Iran pic.twitter.com/5O5oljhged

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) September 6, 2018

In the first six years, the MEK succeeded, for the first time, to introduce a new, systematic and comprehensive vision of Islam that was entirely independent of what was espoused and advocated by the fundamentalist mullahs who considered the interpretation of Islam their exclusive domain.

The 1950s and 1960s in Iran were marked by repression against dissidents. After the 1953 coup against the popular Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq, the Shah, and his notorious secret police, the SAVAK, suppressed all political opponents and forced many others into silence.

Under these circumstances, MEK (also referred to as Mujahedin-e Khalq) was founded on September 6, 1965, and eventually became the most enduring Iranian opposition movement.

In a series of raids in August and September 1971, the SAVAK arrested all MEK leaders and 90 percent of its cadres. On May 25, 1972, the founders of the MEK (PMOI) along with two members of its leadership, Mahmoud Asgarizadeh, and Rassoul Meshkinfam, were executed by firing squad after months of imprisonment and torture. With their sacrifice, they became the pioneers in the anti-Shah struggle.

Paying homage to founder of PMOI, Hanifnejad, at the 50th anniversary of this organization#Iran #Iran_Maryam pic.twitter.com/rHR3GPzyRG

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 13, 2015

The Iranian Resistance’s Leader Massoud Rajavi was among the MEK leaders arrested by SAVAK. He, like his colleagues, was tried before the Shah’s military tribunals and sentenced to death. His older brother, Prof. Kazem Rajavi, who was renowned for his academic and human rights work in Switzerland, launched a major campaign to save Massoud Rajavi’s life. Several prominent European leaders intervened, including Amnesty International, Francois Mitterrand, and the prominent French Philosopher Jean-Paul Satre, forcing the Shah to commute Massoud Rajavi’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

While in prison and following the execution of MEK’s founders, Massoud Rajavi assumed the leadership of the organization and declared the reactionary and backward interpretation of Islam, espoused by Khomeini and his band of clerics, as the most serious threat to the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, 54 years later, the MEK, as the largest, best organized, and most capable Iranian opposition organization, has emerged as the harbinger of change and hope for a democratic and prosperous future for the people of Iran.

Mek Political Platform

Staff writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

On International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August 2019, Amnesty International released a statement entitled: Iran: World turning blind eye to the crisis of mass enforced disappearance. This statement addresses the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, mostly members, and supporters of the main Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

Background:

In the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime summarily and extra-judicially executed tens of thousands of political prisoners across Iran. The massacre was carried out based on a fatwa by the regime’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Khomeini decreed:

“Whoever at any stage continues to belong to the Monafeqin (the regime’s derogatory term to describe the PMOI/MEK) must be executed. Annihilate the enemies of Islam immediately.”

He went on to add:

“… Those who are in prisons throughout the country and remain steadfast in their support for the MEK/PMOI are waging war on God and are condemned to execution… It is naive to show mercy to those who wage war on God.”

More than 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in a matter of a few months. The vast majority of the victims were activists of the opposition PMOI/MEK.

Many members of the death committees, which ordered the mass killings in different cities, are now senior Iranian regime officials, including the Judiciary Head Ebrahim Raisi and regime Justice Minister Ali Reza Avaei.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The majority of those executed were either serving prison sentences for their political activities or had already completed their sentences but had not been released… While the Iranian regime has brazenly boasted about this massacre, it has not provided any information as to how many prisoners were killed or where the victims are buried.

In an article about the massacre,  the British Daily, The Telegraph, wrote:

“CHILDREN as young as 13 were hanged from cranes, six at a time, in a barbaric two-month purge of Iran’s prisons on the direct orders of Ayatollah Khomeini, according to a new book by his former deputy.

More than 30,000 political prisoners were executed in the 1988 massacre – a far larger number than previously suspected. Secret documents smuggled out of Iran reveal that, because of the large numbers of necks to be broken, prisoners were loaded onto forklift trucks in groups of six and hanged from cranes in half-hourly intervals.”

Amnesty International’s statement reads:

“Thousands of the victims’ deaths remain unregistered and, across the country, there are thousands of missing bodies buried in unidentified mass graves. For more than 30 years, the Iranian authorities have failed to officially acknowledge the existence of these mass graves and concealed their locations causing immeasurable suffering to families who are still seeking answers about their missing loved ones.”

https://twitter.com/AmnestyIran/status/1166644085387661313

Philip Luther, the Middle East, and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director at Amnesty International added:

“The families of those secretly killed in the 1988 prison massacres are still living through a nightmare. They and many others in Iran are haunted by the thousands of missing bodies, which have cast a specter over the country’s justice system to this day,”

said Philip Luther.

“UN member states must use every opportunity, including the upcoming review of Iran’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council in November, to press the Iranian government to identify mass graves and reveal the fate and whereabouts of all victims of these tragic events.”

Victims are never forgotten

On the last day of a five-day international event at MEK’s headquarter, Ashraf 3, near Tirana, Albania, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), discussed the plight of tens of thousands of victims of the mullahs’ brutality in Iran. Several prominent dignitaries, as well as current and former government officials from 47 countries, attended the conference.

Mrs. Rajavi said,

“The massacre in 1988 was the horrifying scene of such historic confrontation. But it was not the end. Despite its excruciating pain and agony, it was the beginning of a new confrontation which still continues and will ultimately write the fate of the Iranian nation with the word, freedom.
From this vantage point, one can see that the 1988 massacre is tied to Iran’s freedom and future. It is entwined with the stoned rights of human beings in Iran, with the resistance for freedom and equality, with the betrayal of foreign proponents of appeasement, with the disgraceful cowardice of those who surrendered to the regime, and of course, it is tied to the regime’s overthrow.”

https://twitter.com/Maryam_Rajavi/status/1164088532572549121

Staff writer

On Wednesday, September 26th, demonstrators at the Free Iran Rally in New York City rallied near the UN Headquarters in protest at the Iranian regime. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Mascots of Rouhani and Khamenei holding skeletons in hand representing murderous nature of the mullahs regime roam around the anti-Rouhani demonstration in New York in front of the @UN#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#No2Rouhani @VOAIran #unga73 ⁦#UNGA ⁦⁦@AFP⁩ @USUN pic.twitter.com/KXtNNdIqAY

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) September 26, 2018

39 Years of Repression

The Iranian-American community and supporters of the Iranian opposition groups, including the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), gathered in front of the UN plaza.

“The face of #Iran'ian Opposition,” reads the sign that a protester holds at the Iranian dissidents’ demonstration against Rouhani at the @UN#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#No2Rouhani @VOAIran #unga73 ⁦#UNGA ⁦⁦@AFP⁩ @AmbJohnBolton⁩ pic.twitter.com/0aVnlFWYfx

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) September 26, 2018

They recounted 39 years of repression under the tyrannical regime of the mullahs and called on the US and the international community to recognise the Iranian resistance as a viable alternative to the mullahs’ rule.

Iranians suffer intense persecution, with strict restrictions on religious freedom. The US State Department estimates that more than 600 Christians have been imprisoned for their faith in the last eight years.

The regime has adopted extremely violent and repressive strategies to maintain its position in power. The summer of 1988 was one of the worst periods in Iran’s history. More than 30,000 members of the MEK and the Iranian opposition were executed for their political beliefs.

The executions are still occurring today. Iran executes more of its own citizens than any other country on earth. Since Rouhani came to power five years ago, more than 3,500 citizens have been executed.

Iran Needs International Support

They also called for the international community to take concrete steps towards ending the mullahs’ warmongering foreign policy, nuclear development programs, and financing of foreign terrorism.

"What do we want? Regime change in Iran"
"When do we want it? Now, Now, Now"

New York
Supporters of #Iran opposition PMOI/MEK protesting the presence of mullahs' president Hassan Rouhani at the #UNGA.#No2Rouhani#IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/EpuYi3lAng

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 26, 2018

Victims of the regime’s warmongering policies were also represented. Dr. Fahmi Kheirollah from the Syrian opposition addressed the crowd, pledging, “the Iranian people will prevail and we will come to Tehran to celebrate with you!”

Guest Speakers Addressed the Crowd

Those gathered shouted chants of “terrorist Rouhani! Out of New York!”, “Down with the dictator!”, and “Victory is ours!”

Guest speakers also pledged their support to the Iranian resistance movement. Pastor Linda told protestors, “Iranians have suffered enough!” and explained, “negotiations can no longer save the mullahs”.

Senator Robert Torricelli also pledged his support to the throng. “Rouhani does not belong among the heads of state”, he said, adding, “he is a thug, a tyrant and a murderer”.

Sen. Robert Torricelli at the NY rally during the UN General Assembly:

"Turn your back on the regime & stand with the people of Iran."

To Rouhani:
"We have given up on reform. You can't fool us anymore with change or phony elections… We want a free Iran."#No2Rouhani#UNGA pic.twitter.com/QC3cuJHuMa

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 25, 2018

Torricelli also condemned the regime’s use of state-sponsored terror. He said, “Rouhani in June dispatched his own diplomats to plant a bomb to kill all of us”, referring to the failed terror attack on the NCRI’s Grand Gathering in Paris earlier this year.

Torricelli also had a message for Rouhani. “We have given up on reform. You can’t fool us anymore with change or phoney elections… We want a free Iran”, he said.

The protesters were adamant in their demands. They shouted that Rouhani does not deserve his seat at the UN General Assembly, suggesting that President-elect of the NCRI and leader of the MEK, Maryam Rajavi, should be there instead.

Rouhani does not deserve to walk among other legitimate heads of state. He is a tyrant and a dictator. Instead of handshakes, he should be in handcuffs for the human rights abuses carried out against his own tortured population.

Staff Writer