++ News emerged that a data leak in Albania led the Rama government to sign a memorandum of understanding with an American company to “strengthen cyber security and increase the digital infrastructure”. The company, Jones Group International, is led by General James Logan Jones Jr, “a four-star General of the United States Navy Corps, former National Security Adviser, Commander of the Marine Corps, Commander of the US European Command, Supreme Allied Commander Europe”. This is the same General Jones who in November 2019 visited Maryam Rajavi in Ashraf 3 in Manez to support her regime change agenda. This knowledge led to a series of comments from Albanians who wonder how private their personal details will be once Jones gets hold of them.
The MEK, of course, is not in Albania to directly oppose the Iranian regime – that would be a ludicrous conclusion for anyone to make. Instead, it acts as a propaganda and intelligence tool for the anti-Iran coalition which includes the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The MEK is well known as a conduit for Mossad intelligence – a two-way street. With Jones’ company embedded in the security infrastructure and the corrupting, criminal MEK acting with impunity in Albania, who knows what real threat there may be to national security in that country.
What guarantee does Albania have that general Jones will not share Albania’s sensitive information with the Iranian mojaheden? pic.twitter.com/OSP2wqo4rE
— Olsi Jazexhi (@OlsiJ) January 11, 2022
++ Saber from Tabriz answered an article by Iran-Efshagar, an MEK website built to attack critics and ex-members. The article claims that the name ‘Rajavi Cult’ was invented by Iranian intelligence to discredit Rajavi and is not true. Saber accepts that this name should not be used. Instead, he says, the name ‘Rajavi’s Destructive Cult’ is the correct terminology. He explains that only destructive cults do what Rajavi does – destroy their members.
++ Hamed Sarafpour, Iran-Interlink, wrote about MEK Money Laundering after Rajavi announced the “week of financial support”, a week when members are supposed to go all out to collect financial support for her cult. Every year she does this so that she can claim that the MEK is financed through people’s money. Sarafpour exposes the history of money laundry by the MEK from the deceptive Iran Aid bogus charity to the 3 tons of gold and food for oil, etc to the payments made to John Bolton, the Vox Party, and more. He also publishes the amount of money Maryam spends on makeup and shoes and decoration for her meetings and compares this with the situation of ordinary members – referring to modern slavery to explain why the money does not reach the members.
++ Massoud Khodabandeh concluded the 9th hour-long podcast interviews with Bakhshali Alizadeh, a former MEK member now living in Iran with his family. In the series, Alizadeh describes how he went to the front line in the Iran-Iraq war as a conscript and was captured and imprisoned as a POW in Saddam’s camps. He talks about conditions in the camp and how he and others were given to Rajavi contrary to international law. He describes the situation of the MEK camps – forced marriages, forced divorces, the fall of Saddam, the Americans disarming the MEK, and the approach of the new Iraqi government. Alizadeh talks about internal conflicts inside the camp, why Rajavi resisted leaving Camp Ashraf, the transfer to Camp Liberty and how UNAMI behaved inside Liberty. Alizadeh was among those members transferred to Albania. Once there he had the opportunity to leave the MEK. This began another journey – from Albania to Germany where he was granted refugee status. He explains why he gave this up and returned to Iran where he got married and had a baby. In the concluding podcast Alizadeh touched on the importance of family in restoring his life – his father had previously travelled to the camp in Iraq to try to contact his son. He explains that in order to leave point A you need a point B to go to. The MEK cult, protected by benefactors, is denying people the point B, i.e. contact with family and society to prevent them leaving.
++ Ex members broadcast a touching video on YouTube of former MEK member Parviz Heydarian saying farewell to his friends as he returns to Iran from Albania. Heydarian was supported by the recently established ASILA association. The film shows Heydarian with other former members, who all look happy, healthy and relaxed in their new lives. The MEK have been on overdrive to denounce them all as agents of the Iranian regime. The reality is that both ASILA in Albania and Nejat Society in Iran are legally registered in their respective countries where they pay taxes and obey the laws. Unlike the MEK which has never registered anywhere, does not pay any taxes and certainly does not obey any laws.
In English:
++ Mazda Parsi for Nejat Society writes about the MEK’s constant and futile habit of labelling all its critics as ‘agents of the Intelligence Ministry of Iran’. Parsi identifies three main groups which the MEK regards as enemies: former members, families of members and the child soldiers made to join MEK’s army in Iraq. The common characteristics linking these groups is their scathing criticism of the MEK and revelations of horrendous abuses and crimes. The MEK also singles out ASILA in Albania and Nejat Society in Iran to attack as agents. The simple reason is that these organisations effectively and persistently help and support all those groups.
++ Nejat Society reveals that the MEK’s policy of recruiting child soldiers has been known about in western political circles for some time. In a report on Iran published by the UK Home Office Border and Immigration Agency, it is stated: “According to the Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 ‘The MeK reportedly recruited members from the USA, Europe and Iraqi prisoner of war camps and jails. Children were said to be among MeK members in Ashraf camp, including 17-year-old Majid Amini who ‘was recruited to join the MeK in Tehran with promises of completing two school grades in one year and gaining a place in college’, according to his parents. There were reports that the MeK recruited children from Sweden.”
++ A Letter was sent from Nejat Society CEO Ebrahim Khodabandeh to the ASILA President outlining the problem that families have in gaining visas to visit Albania and seek out contact with their loved ones incarcerated in camp Ashraf 3 in Manez as modern slaves. The letter asks ASILA to petition the authorities to ignore Maryam Rajavi’s deceptive lies and grant the human rights of MEK members and their families.
++ Habilian Association in Iran published a second volume of its book ‘Mujahedin-e Khalq Uncovered 2, The Terrorist Group in the Eyes of International Media’. After Trump’s presidency ended, Habilian compiled media reports to update the latest narrative from western media viz a viz the MEK. “The book, published in 830 pages, vividly demonstrates that the MEK is still a highly dubious and notorious group in the West and despite the efforts to present a different image of itself among Westerners, it has not attained much success.”
++ Anne Khodabandeh in Iran-Interlink exposes the MEK’s deceptive recruitment of vulnerable Iranian asylum seekers arriving in Albania. The MEK has imposed its personnel on the police by offering to identify the Iranians among the refugees. Once recruited, they are taken to MEK camps and detained there as modern slaves. According to Khodabandeh, this practice of deceptively exploiting Iranian refugees has been going on for decades. This time, however, the Albanian authorities have a duty to detect and prevent it rather than facilitate it.
++ Geopolitica published an interview Jack Turner made with Dr Haniyeh Tarkian, an Italian Islamic-Studies researcher and geopolitical analyst, about different aspects of the MEK’s activities. Interestingly, the conversation continually returned to the issue of western double standards and hypocrisy in relation to the MEK over every issue.
++ Atefeh Nadilian, human rights lawyer, writing for Nejat Society reveals that the MEK’s sensitivity toward families has become worse in recent times. The MEK has tried to depict the families as dangerous agents of the Iranian regime. But this has backfired as most observers and analysts have realised that the MEK’s main enemy are elderly parents and siblings of the entrapped members languishing in Camp Ashraf 3.
January 22, 2022