Italy’s channel 1 (Rai Uno) broadcast a report on MKO and pardon of its defectors in its news section, which is the most important news program in Italy with 25 million viewers.
The report says: "Members of the terrorist MKO can return to their country with recent public pardon [issued by Iranian leaders]. With the fall of Saddam Hussein, MKO lost its supporter. MKO is a dangerous group that conducted armed operations against Iran. It has a dangerous ideology that has turned it into a religious cult.
MKO, which is on the US and European terror lists, has conducted many attacks against Iran during past years."
Then a picture in "Nejat Associaion", illustrating the captivity of MKO members in the organization, is shown and the anchor adds: "With the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, military camps of the group were shut down and their weapons were confiscated.
Today, with the pardon issued by Iranian leaders, many of the members of MKO can return to their country."
Report goes on with interviews with some former members in Nejat Association in Tehran:
"Most of the former members have similar experiences: families who were left alone and people who accepted not to have an ordinary life by entering the MKO. Members were brainwashed so that they were ready to do whatever needed, even extreme duties.
Those who want to leave or escape the group will be punished and tortured severely."
"This man who has recently escaped to Iran (pointing to one of former members) describes the pressure in the organization and that how he was arrested and tortured when he wanted to escape the group," the report adds.
Rai Uno’s reporter points to the parents of a MKO member and says:
"This old parents come once in every two weeks to Nejat Association (that helps the return of MKO members to Iran) to hear about their son who was recruited by the MKO when he was 20." Still, there’s no word on him: "A missing person is a missing element who has destroyed the lives of thousands of human beings".
The term "religious cult" (Setta), used in this report to describe the MKO, has too much negative meaning in Italian language and reminds of extremist and deviant cults.
IRNA
