Former child soldiers of the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) spoke in Club House, on December 11th and 18th, 2021. Dozens of participants of the rooms were former members of the MEK including former militia forces of the MEK who are considered as child soldiers because they were recruited by the group commanders when they were teenagers. They gave testimonies on their experiences of working and receiving military trainings in the MEK’s bases.
A lot of speakers talked in the two five-hour-long club house rooms. Although former child soldiers knew that they would be again labeled as agents of the Iranian government or “mercenary” by the MEK propaganda, they revealed more facts on their life in the Cult of Rajavi. The followings were extracted from some of their testimonies:
Alireza Naghash
As the son of a Mujahed mother, he was taken to Iraq when he was 11 years old. In 1991 he was smuggled to Europe together with other children of the MEK. He was then transferred to Camp Ashraf again to join the MEK’s so-called National Liberation Army (NLA). He says:
“I went to the MEK when I was 11 and I left it when I was 30, in 2004. I started talking against the group as soon as I left camp Ashraf and entered the American Camp (TIPF). If you wanted to leave the MEK you had to admit any accusation. They would label you as a mercenary or as an immoral person. In my idea, those who were braver, soon accepted one or both of these accusations and left the group…
“If the MEK calls us mercenary, they should prove it. The MEK wanted us to stay in the group to get killed and then they would use our names as their martyrs… I am proud of myself even if the MEK calls me mercenary. I am happy that I could inform other people about the danger of the MEK.”
Ali Meyari
He was only thirteen years old when the MEK transferred him to Iraq to join the NLA in 1998. He says:
“Marzieh Aliahmadi told me, ‘You have no other way. Your parents were mujaheds and you have to become a mujahed too’. I was forced to take arms. They told me, a 13-year-old son, to write about the crimes of the regime on a paper! I have no photos of my teen years. There are only some pictures of me wearing military uniform and having a gun in my hands. The MEK wanted to delete us.
“Today, I am in Germany. The MEK has no base in the Iranian population here. If you tell the Iranians that you come from the MEK, they will beat you or insult you… I came to Germany four years ago and since then I tried to contact my mother [who is still in the MEK] but I was not allowed to talk to her…
“When I was in Camp Ashraf, one of the commanders touched my hip. This was repeated every night. When I reported to the superior ranks, they told me that it was my own fault…People in the MEK had sexual problems. Sexual relationships were forbidden. This is against the nature of human beings.
“The MEK seized my passport. When I wanted to leave the MEK in Albania they even took my necklace, they left me money less in the streets of Albania. In Germany, I had to prove that I am Iranian!”
Amir Pakbaz
As the son of Mujahed parents, Amir and his brothers spent their adolescence in the MEK’s cult-like structure. He was 17 when he was taken from Denmark to Belgium and Netherlands and finally to Iraq. He left the MEK in Albania in 2015. He recounts:
“I want to speak of the truth. I waisted 19 years of best part of my life to fight for the Iranian people but unfortunately, I was in a structure in which I did not fight for the freedom of Iranians even for one day. In the MEK the fight was between the lower ranks and the higher ranks.”
Parvin
She was a little girl when she was separated from her Mujahed parents and she was smuggled to Europe in 1991. She did not see her mother until 2015. She says:
“I am sad and moved by your stories. I went to Albania 6 years ago. I met my mom after 25 years, there [in the MEK’s camp]. I feel that my mom would leave the MEK if she was able to choose. She does not know anything about the outside world. She is scared to come out.”
Amin Golmaryami
He might be the most famous child soldier of the MEK due to the famous interview he had with the German newspaper Die Zeit. He recounted his story as a child soldier in the MEK and he was soon labeled as mercenary of the Iranian government by the MEK propaganda. Amin was a main speaker in the rooms. The followings are just a short part of his words:
“I never vote for the MEK in the future of Iran. This group will not bring democracy for Iranians. As a free man, I live in Germany. I recounted my life experience for the German journalist Hommerch and the MEK simply accused me of being a liar! No body can say that I me telling lie. I received military trainings in the MEK. My mother did gave me the arm! Every morning we had to declare that we are fighters of the National Liberation Army… In the MEK ‘family’ make no sense. My parents did not know anything about me in the MEK. Leadership of the group had the central role and nothing else was important.”