The struggle to free their loved ones from the clutches of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq cult has been brought to Europe as two fathers visit Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, home to the MEK leader Maryam Rajavi.
Over three decades the cult leader Rajavi has banned MEK members from contacting their families for fear of divided loyalties and absconding. But the families have refused to give up on their children. Since 2003, hundreds of families undertook the difficult and dangerous journey to Iraq to find their loved ones. Mostafa Mohammadi travelled from Canada on several occasions to find his daughter Somayeh and bring her home. With no success there, he has now brought the demands of the families to the gates of the MEK’s Headquarters in France.
Somayeh Mohammadi has been held hostage by the MEK for over two decades in Iraq. After years of futile protest outside the camp, her father came to France to petition the MEK leader for her release. On the advice of his lawyer Mostafa visited the base in Auvers-sur-Oise with his other daughter Hooriyeh along with the lawyer to deliver a last formal request to Maryam Rajavi before launching legal proceedings against her. The MEK response was to send out around twenty thugs to beat up all three of the petitioners, including the French lawyer. Police intervened and Mostafa was hospitalised overnight.
After recovering from his injuries Mostafa again visited Auvers-sur-Oise on Friday 10th July to publicise his plight. This time he was accompanied by another father whose daughter is also being held captive in Iraq. Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejad joined Mostafa outside the Town Hall at Auvers-sur-Oise to hand out leaflets to local people and tourists. Ghorban Ali as well as other critics had previously been subjected to attacks by the MEK for speaking out against the group in France.
After sending out the message ‘Let’s stand up together and free our children’, other families are now lined up to join them for further activities over the busy summer season.
One of the mayor’s electoral pledges was to rid the small tourist town – where Vincent Van Gogh painted some of his most famous works – of the incongruous presence of the terrorist group. Her election was a clear indication that the townsfolk wanted some action to be taken to remove the MEK from their town. Unfortunately this has not happened and the MEK still continue their activities from inside their de facto enclave beyond the reach of the French authorities even though the cult is currently under investigation for terrorist offences.