Fereshteh was born to parents who were members of the Mujahedin Khalq, in 1984. She was grown up in the MEK’s cult-like structure in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. She is still in the group’s base in Albania.
Fereshteh Khalili was only four years old when her father, MohammadReza Khalili was killed in the MEK’s cross border operation against their own country, Iran, in 1988. MohammadReza’s body was buried in Karbala, Iraq.
There is no information about Fereshteh’s mother. She must have been in the group too but separated from her daughter as it is the rule of the Cult of Rajavi. Family members do not live with each other in the group. They may meet each other once or twice a year in one of the public events of the group. The separation of Freshteh from her mother was started in 1991 when Massoud Rajavi ordered to separate children from their parents and eventually smuggle them to European countries.
As a teenager, Fereshteh was then brought back to Camp Ashraf, Iraq to receive military trainings and to get indoctrinated. In the summer of 2016, she was relocated in Tirana, Albania together with a number of other cult members.
Mr. MohammadJavad Khalili; Fereshteh Khalili uncle
Nevertheless, Fereshteh is not as lonely as she seems. She has family members in Iran, who miss her and try to contact her although she is kept isolated from the outside world. Her uncle MohammadJavad lives in Arak, Iraq. He has taken actions in order to contact Fereshteh and to help her release herself from the bars of the cult.
MohammadJavad Khalili considers Fereshteh as the only survivor of his brother’s family. He has so far written several letters addressing his niece and has asked her to leave the MEK. Although Fereshteh was coerced by the group leaders to write a letter against her uncle insulting him as if he is her enemy, the uncle did not stop his efforts for liberating Fereshteh.
“I will find a way to visit you,” Mohammad Javad writes to Fereshteh. “Where ever you are, you are my niece. I love you just like my own daughter… I promise to help you have a normal life after you leave the MEK.”