International Committee of the Red Cross
Greetings and Regards,
On behalf of the Nejat Society in Iran, I wish to congratulate the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on Wednesday, May8, 2024.
Nejat Society represents the families of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO) who are trapped in a remote and isolated camp in Albania. These families have not heard from their loved ones for many years, which is because the leaders of the cult do not allow their members to communicate with the outside world, particularly family and friends.
According to those who managed to escape from this camp, the most basic human rights of the members are violated and the European Convention on Human Rights, which Albania is also a signatory, is systematically violated.
In the mandate & mission of the Red Cross we read:
It (ICRC) takes action in response to emergencies and promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.
The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.
. . . the ICRC, with the support of the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, has constantly urged governments to adapt international humanitarian law to changing circumstances, . . .
According to this mandate, when the basic human rights of the members of the MEK are continuously violated inside the camp of this organization in Albania and the members are exposed to systematic brainwashing, the World Red Cross ought to urge the Albanian government to implement international and European humanitarian laws in MEK camp in Albania.
Last year, I submitted the families’ requests to connect with their loved ones, along with many documents to the ICRC office in Tehran, and they promised to handle the case and cooperate, but so far no answer has been received.
On behalf of the grieving and awaiting families, I request you to fulfill the main task of the International Committee of the Red Cross and provide the possibility of communication between the families and the missing members inside the MEK camp in Albania through the Albanian government.
The families have absolutely no information about the situation in the camp and the conditions of their loved ones. They do not know if their loved ones are still alive and live inside the camp. No one knows whether they have deceased or have been transferred to another country. There is no information about the physical and mental health of these people. Are they imprisoned and curfewed? These people are considered missing and disapeared from the point of view of their families. According to the information received from the former members, the relations inside the camp have the status of modern slavery, due to the mind control that is applied.
I also request you to remind the responsibility of the government of Albania to comply with the human rights convention of the Council of Europe and ask this government to firstly remove the ban on giving visas to Iranian families of members of the MEK to travel to Albania and secondly open the doors of the camp in Albania to families and the free world so that families can visit their loved ones along with representatives of the Red Cross and be sure of their physical and mental health.
I look forward to your reply
Respectfully,
Ebrahim Khodabandeh
CEO of Najat Society