On June 23, 2024, Nejat Society Albania, as a supporter of Iranians living in Albania and as an officially registered Albanian institute, held a large gathering with public invitation in Tufinë district of Tirana.
The purpose of holding this gathering was to express the demands and goals of the Nejat Society Albania, which was announced as follows:
“No to the violation of human rights in the Mujahedin-e Khalq camp in Manz, Durres”
“Yes to visit between the mothers and their children in the MEK’s camp in Manz, Durres””
“No to the separation of men and women in the MEK’s camp in Manz, Durres”
“Yes to the release of the confined members in the MEK’s camp in Manz, Durres”
The gathering had more than 500 participants. A large number of human rights associations and civil rights, women’s rights and mothers’ rights activists in Tirana participated the event and supported its goals.
The great gathering of the Nejat Society Albania started at 10:00 am with the opening clip broadcast on the big wide screen. Then, Erisa Idrisi (Rahimi), the head of the society thanked all the participants. She also thanked the Albanian government and police for making it possible for them to establish the Nejat Society Albania and implement the event. She explained about the society and its goals, as well as the MEK.
Nejat Albania’s great gathering
Idrisi also appreciated the managing director of Nejat Society, Ebrahim Khodabandeh, for supporting and guiding the society of Albania. Pointing to the fact that they have not yet reached their main commitment, which is the release of all the members trapped in the MEK camp in Manz, Durres, and the meeting of the families with their children.
A documentary which highlights the cut-like and anti-family nature of the MEK was aired, which shocked the audience by the realities about the group.
The second speaker of the event Angjela Doçi, the head of the student defense committee of the Nejat Society Albania, said: “The MEK camp in Manz in Durres has very strict rules that actually torture the residents there. Residents of this camp are not allowed to talk or communicate with their family members. They are not allowed to think freely, they cannot even breathe freely. Their suffering has no end, but it increases day by day and their lives become more and more hell, a burning hell that burns their souls and break their hearts.”
Angjela Doçi
The next speaker was Ela Deda, the legal director of Nejat Society Albania. Deda said: “Today, we have gathered in this conference to talk about the rights of migrant refugees, especially the Iranian members of Nejat Society Albania and all the MEK members who are imprisoned in the group’s camp in Manz, Durres. It has been two years since I joined Nejat Society Albania to support a very important goal, namely the freedom and human rights of former members of the MEK, and to convey their valuable messages in order to have a small contribution to the unification of as many families as possible. Human rights are an important part of legal theories and an important philosophical-political concept. Among the basic human rights, we can mention the right to individual freedoms, the right to life, the right to self-determination, the right to choose a religion, etc. Human rights describe the concept that all people are born with universal human rights. Human rights do not only mean freedom from coercion, discrimination and abuse. Human rights must be current in all aspects of our life with maximum potential. Human rights compel governments to protect our freedoms and work to ensure dignity, justice and inclusion for all.”
Ela Deda, the legal director of Nejat Society Albania
The gathering went on with airing a clip of the families of MEK members inside Iran. Consequently, the attendees were deeply affected by the stories of mourning mothers and fathers who miss their loved ones who are barred in the MEK camp. Many shed tears after watching the clip.
Mehdi Soleimani, former member of the MEK and an active member of the society, gave a speech in Albanian. Mehdi Soleimani said: “I was in the MEK for fourteen years and I lived with them. The MEK is a Cult-like group and its members do not have the right to have any relationship with the outside world of the cult. I was in a prison called MEK for fourteen years and during this time I could not talk to my mother, father, siblings. According to the MEK, the family is considered an enemy and one should not talk to them. Many people who came to Tirana ran away from the MEK while going to the doctor or in the dark of the night. When I escaped from the MEK, it took me a month to find my brother’s phone number. When I called him, he didn’t know me. After I gave several addresses and told the names of my father, mother and sister, my brother recognized me and said that he would go home and call at night. At night when he called, the whole family was gathered. When I talked to my mother, she said this is not my Mehdi. I again showed that it was me so that she recognized me and started crying. For a week, I only talked to my mother from morning to night. During that week my mother only cried and spoke a few sentences and then cried again.”
Ebrahim Khodabande, the CEO of Nejat Society, spoke live to theaudiance. He said:
“Greetings to all the respected audience and thank you for making it to gather here to support the goals of Nejat Society Albania. I would like to thank each and every member and officials of Nejat Society Albania, both Iranian and Albanian, and also appreciate the assistance of the authorities of the Albanian government who made the establishment and registration of the Nejat Society possible.
“Nejat Society belongs to families who are in Iran far away from their loved ones in the MEK camp because the leaders of the MEK do not allow their members to communicate with their families. Nejat Association tries to somehow provide the possibility of communication between families and members living in the MEK camp in Durres.
“Many news is heard that the leaders of the MEK do not respect and recognize the minimum rights of their members in this camp. It is also heard that the Albanian government is not allowed to interfere in the affairs of this camp, which is in Albanian territory.
“On behalf of thousands of families in Iran, I request the government of Albania to exercise its sovereignty over this camp and ensure that human rights are respected in this camp in accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe Human Rights Convention, of which the Republic of Albania is one of the signatories.
“Thank you again to all of you who came together to defend the goals of Nejat Society and I request you to ask the responsible authorities in the Albanian government why the Albanian government cannot or will not exercise its sovereignty over this camp. And is it really true that this camp in Durres is under the absolute control of the leaders of the People’s Mojahedin Organization?”
Soraya Abdullahi, the mother of Amir Aslan Hassanzadeh, and Masoumeh Rezaei, the mother of Saeed Farajullah Hosseini, spoke live on behalf of all mothers and families in Iran, and spoke about the pain and suffering of the separation of tens of years, which touched the audience immensely. They urged the Albanian government to make arrangements to connect these heartbroken mothers and expectant families with their loved ones. Their words were accompanied by expressions of emotion and continuous praise from the audience.
RTSH report on the great gathering of Nejat Albania
The great gathering of Nejat Society Albania was also welcomed by the media. TV and radio channels and various publications covered this gathering by sending a team of reporters and cameramen. Famous and popular televisions including: RTSH 1 (Nationwide State Television Network), RTSH NEWS (national state television news network), NEWS 24, ALPHAPRESS TV, ATV, Tirana 1, TRING TV, BIO NEWS, PUBLIALB and Kristal TV covered the event.