Reza Tabe’ was a high-ranking commander of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ NCR/ Cult of Rajavi). He had served the MEK since he was so young. He survived the MEK’s most catastrophic operation against the Iranian border in 1988 and many other operations launched by the MEK in the alleged struggle for the Iranian Khalq (people). However, Reza Tabe’ died in 2014 after he left the group.
Reza was one of the commanders of a unit called “Hanif” in Camp Ashraf where child soldiers were trained for military operations immediately after they were transferred from Europe to the MEK’s base in Iraq. Amir Yaghmai is one of the child soldiers who was recruited by the MEK agents in France to join the MEK’s so-called National Liberation Army (NLA), when he was only 14. He remembers Reza Tabe’, his nice commander in Hanif.
Amir Vafa Yaghmaei
Amir could manage to escape the MEK (Cult of Rajavi) when he was 22 and since then he was labeled by the MEK’s propaganda as the agent of the Iranian Intelligence. Nevertheless, Amir has not stopped exposing the MEK as a suppressive cult that violated the rights of its own members, especially former child soldiers like him. In his recent video published on Twitter, Amir speaks in the memory of Reza Tabe as one of the rare commanders of the MEK who was kind, humanitarian and caring to child soldiers. “He had sense of humor, he was energetic, cheerful and an honorable person,” Amir says.
As Amir Yaghmai asserts, unlike typical commanders of the MEK who are suppressive, strict and absolutely obedient to rules of the cult of Rajavi, Reza Tabe’ was an easygoing person. Amir Yaghmai testifies that he just saw humanity in him. “The kids (child soldiers) loved him,” Amir says. “I didn’t see anything bad of him, I just learned from him to be human.”.
In contrast, being humanitarian was not the thing wanted by the leaders of the MEK. The cult of Rajavi want commanders who are able to monitor all aspects of the life of their forces, suppressing them in the self-criticism sessions, punishing them for not being submissive enough to the cult-like regulations of the group.
Thus, Reza left the group and fled to Greece, Europe. After those many years of serving Massoud Rajavi and his cult, Reza was left moneyless and homeless as an illegal refugee seeker in Europe. After two years he moved to Germany where he was finally granted political refuge. He could manage to build a new life but he soon died of a heart attack in the streets of a German city. His body was sent to his family in Iran after so many years of separation.
The MEK-run media said nothing of their formerly high-ranking commander. “The MEK did not react his death; no condolences were sent; no tribute was paid by the side of the MEK.” Amir Yaghmai says. “Reza had served the MEK for so many years. He had endangered his life for the group. No matter right or wrong but he had joined the MEK pure intentions.”
There were a lot of high-ranking members of the MEK who began criticizing the group after they noticed that it was turning to a cult around the personality of Massoud Rajavi. Reza Tabe’ is just one of those members of the cult whose servings was ignored by the leaders just because he had left the cult. Moreover, these individuals were labeled as mercenaries of the Iranian government just because they stopped working with the Rajavis.