On Thursday, June 29, the State Police established a checkpoint with vehicles and vans, which will examine all entrances and exits to the MEK camp.
This checkpoint is seen as a measure by the Albanian authorities after the recent events in the Manza camp, and it is not known how long it will last.
We recall that the special structures of the State Police (RENEA, Antiterror, Operational, Shqiponja) landed around 08:00 on June 20 in Manez, at the headquarters of the Organization of the Iranian People’s Mujahideen (MEK).
The purpose of this operation was to conduct checks and seizures in what was considered to be MEK’s operational center for potential malicious cyber attacks.
The entry of the Police officers was made by the decision of the Special Court of the First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, since the SPAK had reasons and strong suspicions about the activity of the MEK.
The police engagement has been contested by MEK members, attempting to block vehicles and Police movement through residences, referring to images released by the authorities.
The operation ended with one dead person, who is suspected to have died of a heart attack and for whom forensic expertise is awaited to reveal the official causes.
According to the figures published by the Police, 15 operatives and 21 MEK members were injured, 15 of whom left the hospital a few hours after being hospitalized.
Out of 127 buildings in Manez, the authorities checked 70 of them, concluding with the seizure of 96 computer units, 46 laptops and various memory cards.
The Albania Police set up a checkpoint in the MEK camp Ashraf
fter the end of the police operation, the Prosecutor’s Office of Durrës started the investigations for the violent opposition of the Police employees as well as for the obstruction of the execution of the decision of GJKKO.
statements
The Minister of the Interior in Albania, Bledi Çuçi, appeared sorry and indignant with the reaction of the MEK organization to the State Police.
“I feel sorry and indignant with the reaction of the MEK organization to the State Police. Albania has offered them everything for humanitarian shelter, it has offered them security and protection even against the threats of the Iranian regime”, said Çuçi first.
For him, the violence and reaction to the actions of the State Police was unimaginable.
“We must all agree that it is not only a legal violation for anyone living in Albania, within the Albanian laws, but it is also a kind of violation of the code of hospitality that we have offered them. The MEK has an agreement with the Albanian government to take shelter in our country only for humanitarian purposes,” added the Minister of the Interior.
The Albanian official recalled that the Mujahideen are prohibited from carrying out any kind of political activity or protest of any kind.
“Their activity has attracted the attention of SPAK. The Special Prosecutor’s Office had strong reasons and addressed the GJKKO to conduct an inspection in Manez and to seize the electronic equipment that could be requested according to the court’s decision”, he said.
Possible scenarios
Referring to the investigative file, Albanian Post revealed that the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has registered criminal proceedings for several criminal offenses against the Mujahideen.
This, after the investigations carried out by Unit “C” from the Computer Crime Investigation, as well as the Anti-Terror Directorate.
Among the criminal offenses written in the file of the Special Prosecutor’s Office are: ‘Provocation of war’, ‘Illegal interception of computer data’, ‘Interference in computer data’, ‘Interference in computer systems’, ‘Misuse of equipment’ and ‘Structured criminal group’.
“With the merger of the criminal offenses discovered by the investigative file of the mujahedin, the punishment is foreseen up to 35 years in prison for those who have committed them, because they are serious offenses (‘Structured group’, ‘Provocation of war’)”, it says initially security and criminalistics expert Prof. Asst. Dr. Ervin Karamuço for AP.
Karamuço thinks that there are also two possible scenarios that could force the Albanian Government to remove the mujahedin from the territory of the Republic of Albania.
“Yesterday the mujahedin of the MEK received the first warning to continue their stay according to all the rules that are provided for in the 2014 agreement,” said the professor of criminology.
According to him, if the mujahedin will continue in one way or another “to radicalize the Albanian Government by telling it that you are collaborators of Iran and doing violent actions inside and outside the camp”, they will probably receive the warning of last to force the Government to remove them from the Albanian territory.
“That’s for sure”, Karamuço added, “it’s just a matter of time to see if these people will reflect or not”.
He notes that the second possible expulsion scenario will be if the “suspected attack” is organized by the entire community.
“They act as a community, they are not independent elements, they are centralized and hierarchical just like a military brigade, then they will all be expelled from the Republic of Albania”, the security expert continued.
One of the criminal offenses for which the mujahedin are accused by SPAK is “Provocation of war”, which is also related to the possible danger that threatens Albania from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“This was the prelude and headline of the meeting of the National Security Council, organized by the president nine days ago, ‘what are we going to do with the Manza camp to prevent further incidents of attacks against Iran’, because with Iran we have a very big problem big that threatens our national security”, argues Karamuço.
The expert emphasizes that this investigation initiated by justice “must be comprehensive” in these moments.
This, after some internal regulations were discovered that were never supervised by the Albanian authorities.
“The camp has several cameras that the State Police does not have, it has a technological system of exceptional surveillance, there is only a protection of the external perimeter with Albanian private police, while inside they have neither police nor other guards. They guard themselves, they self-administer, they punish each other, they have trials within groups of trials, they have security rooms inside which has never been said”, said Ervin Karamuço to the Albanian Post.
Even after the clashes between the Police and the mujahedin, the government continues to guarantee them electricity, water and everything else they need, added the expert, recalling the examples of the Uyghurs and Afghans in our country.
“As for the treatment by our authorities, they should have been kept on a low profile, more of a humanitarian aid. We have done this with the Uyghurs, with the Afghans they have never created a problem. We have kept them, we have fed them even after yesterday’s physical, violent opposition, the Government will continue to guarantee them electricity, water and everything else they need”, said Karamuço.
The security and criminalistics expert thinks that if the criminal offense registered by SPAK is proven, “we will be able to complete the whole story of what all this history and gurgule was about on Tuesday”.
By Klevis Hoxhaj – Albanian Post – Translated by Nejat Society