Leila Nargesi is one of the hostages of the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) residing in Albania. Her family have had no access to her for 24 years.
Leila was a university student when she was deceived by her boyfriend to join the MEK in Iraq, in 1997. “My sister was too young to know about the MEK,” Sara Nargesi, Leila’s sister says. “She fell in love with a boy, named Hanif, in our neighborhood. Together with him, she illegally crossed into Turkey. Since then, we have had no news of her.”
Leila Nargesi; one of the hostages of the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) residing in Albania
Leila is in her early forties now. Under the cult-like ruling of the MEK leaders, she has been forced to mandatory celibacy. She has lost her love, family and friends because of the alleged cause of the group.
Leila’s family have taken various actions in order to find a way to contact their beloved daughter. They have written a lot of letters to different human rights bodies and the Albanian authorities. They have also published messages on Nejat Society website addressing Leila in the hope that she will be able to see the messages some time.
Ms. Sara Nargesi; the sister of Leila who is enslaved at MEK camp in Albania
This is a part of one of the messages written by Sara Nargesi a few years ago: “Dear Leila! We all miss you so much. Our mother is really heartbroken. She misses you a lot. She is sick. The sicker she gets the more she asks about you. We are all looking forward to meet you…”
Following the recent complaint against the MEK leaders filed by 42 defectors of the group, the Nargesis declared their support for the plaintiffs of the case. “As a member of the Nargesi family, I complain against the leaders of the Cult of Rajavi because they kidnapped and imprisoned my sister,” Sara Nargesi told Nejat society. “My family and I declare our support for the plaintiffs and we declare our readiness to make an official complaint against the leaders of the group in any fair court.”