Iran:Successful Completion of the Resettlement of Camp Liberty residents from Iraq to Europe

Iran:Successful Completion of the Resettlement of Camp Liberty residents from Iraq to Europe

This afternoon, September 9, 2016, the final group of Camp Liberty residents (more than 280) departed Baghdad, Iraq, for Albania. This final round of departures marks the successful conclusion to the process of relocating members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) outside of Iraq despite the Iranian regime’s conspiracies, obstruction and threats, which continued until the very last day.

During the four-and-a-half-year-long resettlement process, the residents of Liberty were relocated to European countries, including Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Close to 2,000 residents left Iraq since the beginning of 2016.

In this process, the religious dictatorship ruling Iran provided red notices to Interpol and used fake arrest warrants issued by the Iraqi Judiciary in a bid to prevent the departure of 1,000 PMOI members, and arrest officials and other well-known figures.

Exploiting the post-invasion atmosphere in Iraq, the ruling clerical regime did its utmost to destroy the PMOI/MEK. Three massacres at Camp Ashraf, five missile attacks on Camp Liberty, two cases of abduction of residents, and the imposition of a full-fledged eight-year siege, which left 177 residents dead, constituted parts of this inhumane, albeit futile, plan.

Iran:Iranian Intelligence Agent Convicted in Germany

Iran:Iranian Intelligence Agent Convicted in Germany

Berlin, 20 Jul - An Iranian Intelligence Agent has been convicted in Germany of spying on Iranian Resistance members living abroad.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has welcomed this conviction of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agent and has urged foreign governments to prosecute and expel other regime spies.

The agent, Meysam Panahi, was spying on members of the NCRI and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/ MEK). Despite posing as a refugee, Panahi had worked as a spy for three years and helped to recruit extra people to the Intelligence Agency, receiving 28,600 Euros from the MOIS in at least 30 payments.
The spies would then travel to Iran to receive espionage training with help from the Iranian embassies in Europe.

Germany’s prosecution said that Iran’s Intelligence Ministry created “secret networks” in the country to spy on and spread lies and half-truths to discredit the Iranian Resistance.

Iran: Political prisoner Ali Moezzi invites all to participate in “Free Iran” gathering

political prisoner Ali Moezzi

Iranian political prisoner Ali Moezzi, who is father to two members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), has sent a message from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison declaring his support for the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance held in Paris on 9 July.

Canada’s James Bezan MP stands in solidarity with people of Iran

James Bezan MP

Ottawa, 28 Jun - The “Free Iran” gathering in Paris on 9 July has the support of Canadian Member of Parliament James Bezan. He has expressed his solidarity in a message for an Iran that is free and democratic and respects liberty and human rights.

His message is for proponents of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He criticizes continued human rights offensives that violate international law standards by the regime of President Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei. 

He also encourages continued solidarity to resist Iran’s persistent oppression of political activists, preventing freedom of religion, the regime’s meddling in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen by undercutting UN efforts to achieve peace in addition to coalition allies battling ISIS, and the continued barbarities by the Assad government in Syria.

‘Free Iran’ rally gives voice to those still suffering in Iran

Free Iran’ rally gives voice to those still suffering in Iran

Farzad Madadzadeh, a former Iranian political prisoner, who escaped Iran last year, has written his account of why he plans to join tens of thousands of Iranians and their international supporters at the July 9 "Free Iran" rally in Paris.

In an op-ed for The Hill on Tuesday, Mr. Madadzadeh wrote: "Needless to say, it is a significant international event regarding an important international issue. But for me it is very personal. In spirit, I will be with a much larger crowd. We will be joined by a countless Iranians still living under the thumb of the theocratic regime, who will risk reprisals to watch the proceedings on banned satellite television channels."

"How do I know? After this year’s rally, I will have seen the event from both sides of the ideological wall that separates the Islamic Republic from most of the rest of the world. In past years, I was among those Iranians who supported the NCRI and its main constituent group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), from a silent place inside the country. I put my safety and freedom at risk, as did many of my colleagues, to carry on the groups’ local activism. I spent five years in jail from 2009 to 2014 and suffered extensive physical and psychological torture for my support for the PMOI.  I fled Iran at the age of 29 last year."

Iraqi merchants wishing to purchase residents’ property are barred from Camp Liberty

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

A blatant hampering of the resettlement

The Governmental Committee tasked to suppress Camp Liberty residents headed by Faleh Fayyad prevented two groups of Iraqi merchants who wanted to purchase residents’ property from entering Camp Liberty on Thursday, April 14, 2016. Similarly, on the previous day, two other merchants who had come to purchase the property were turned back at the entrance to the airport area

This inimical behavior is being implemented despite the fact that the sale of the property in Liberty is one of the requisites for the transfer of residents out of Iraq. The Government of Iraq had already declared its consent with the sale of residents’ property. Residents wish to sell their property to provide for part of their resettlement expenses. It seems that in addition to imposing pressures on and psychological torture against residents, another objective of the suppression committee in preventing the sale of the property is to repeat a scenario of systematic plundering and stealing of the PMOI property that it has already executed in Camp Ashraf.

Iran:Lord Maginnis: Italy’s Renzi is sending an ill-advised signal with Iran visit

Lord Maginnis: Italy’s Renzi is sending an ill-advised signal with Iran visit

While few will deny the principle that compromise is the essence of politics and that pragmatic solutions can be helpful within any democratic, pluralist society, this week's visit to Iran by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will, under the prevailing circumstances, send a totally inappropriate message to the ayatollahs, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass argues.

"Compromise at the cost of integrity should be not only shunned but guarded against, particularly when that compromise comes at the expense of dignity and freedom," Lord Maginnis wrote on Monday on the UK website Politics Home.

"In an attempt to underpin the Vienna Agreement of October 18th past rush we appear to have devised another 'de facto' compromise that is being made on the issue of human rights and democratic freedom for ordinary Iranians. That is a compromise that I, for one, am not willing to make. Many of my colleagues from both of Houses of the UK Parliament and other European parliaments share a similar opinion," wrote the Independent member of the United Kingdom's House of Lords."Recent coverage of Iran appears skewed in favour of a narrative surrounding reform and moderation, yet few seem to remember that this is not the first time the regime has played this card. During the Presidency of Mohammad Khatami, Iran played the moderate card to perfection and fooled many in the West. This not only alleviated pressure on the regime, but also gave it time to pursue its nuclear programme secretly, while notionally engaging in cordial relations with the West. Today is no different!"

"Under President Rouhani, Iran has recently reached a 25 year high for executions, despite his supposedly 'moderate' image abroad. The victims included political dissidents who are activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (the PMOI), the principal Iranian opposition movement, along with ethnic and religious minorities. In real terms, according to UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed, Iran has actually escalated its crackdown on human rights over the last few years, leaving little doubt as to the true nature of this government."

"If that were not evidence enough of the nature of this regime, one need look no further than its support of mass murder in Syria and its continual involvement in terror and instability throughout the region. This is not behaviour that warrants compromise or cordial relations. It is belligerence being rewarded by seemingly wishful thinking."

IRAN: Political prisoner pays tribute to Iran’s heroes in Camp Ashraf

          Political prisoner Ali Moezzi, father of two PMOI members, wrote in his tribute

NCRI - Prominent Iranian political prisoner Ali Moezzi has sent out a message from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the April 8, 2011 attack by the Iraqi army against members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

The unprovoked attack on the unarmed and defenseless PMOI (MEK) members in Camp Ashraf, which was carried out at the behest of the mullahs’ regime in Iran, left 36 camp residents killed and hundreds of others injured. The attack was condemned by the international community

Political prisoner Ali Moezzi, father of two PMOI members, wrote in his tribute:

On the fifth anniversary of April 8, 2011, we commemorate the epic valor and sacrifice of PMOI members. We bow our heads in recognition of the sacrifice of PMOI members that destroyed the fundamentalists’ conspiracies. Their blood, mixed with the blood spilt on the asphalt streets of our country and that of the executed political prisoners, will ensure a glorious future for Persia. From Saba Haftbaradaran who bled to death in front of her father’s eyes and lived true to her statement that we will stand resolute to our last breath; to Marzieh who valiantly rushed to her slaughter place and instantly died; to the Madadzadehs and other courageous heroes who were overrun by the [Iraqi] HUMVEEs. What a valiant stand they took at the scene.

IRAN:NCRI publishes report on Iran’s Cyber Army

NCRI publishes report on Iran’s Cyber Army

NCRI - The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has published a new detailed intelligence report on the Iranian regime's Cyber Army. The report is based on intelligence gathered by the sources of the main Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or Mujahedin-e Khalq, MEK) inside the clerical regime including its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The report indicates that Tehran’s cyber army and the Iranian regime’s cyber warfare is directed by the IRGC top brass, in particular the IRGC commander in chief, Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari. The decisions about cyber warfare and the conduct of the cyber army are made by the Supreme National Security Council (, the highest decision-making body of the regime on national security matters that is chaired by the President, Hassan Rouhani.

The report shows that Tehran’s cyber warfare is carried out by an elaborate state apparatus to pursue a malign and malicious state policy and that the Iranian regime has stepped up allocating resources and staff to this warfare in recent years.

Another interesting aspect of the report is that the mullahs’ cyber army boasts and brags about hacking other websites or attacking them. In one instance, one of their affiliates boasted that they have attacked 500 foreign sites and networks.

Iran - Tehran - The shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

The shining stars and heroines of the Iranian Resistance

February8th marks the anniversary of  a fate –making event  in the history of the  Iranian people 's quest for freedom.

On February 8, 1982, Khomeini's Revolutionary Guards surrounded and destroyed the headquarters and killed some of the most prominent leading figures of the PMOI. Khomeini –still alive in those days-- thought that by dealing such a heavy blow to the opposition, he could put up a show of force, demoralize the staunch supporters of the movement and break their resistance in prisons and outside.

It was an unequal battle between thousands of heavily armed guards vs. 20 freedom fighters. He thought victory is certain. However, the champions of freedom did not surrender and fought to the last breath, creating an epical scene that strengthened the movement even further.

The women involved in this battle left a brilliant legacy in the history of the Iranian people's struggle for freedom and democracy. Brave women who did not surrender and resisted and fought courageously to the last breath to herald a new world for their fellow compatriots. Today, their resolve and courage has been multiplied in the ranks of the pioneering women in the PMOI who lead the Resistance movement.

Iran - Iranian regime faces crisis in recruiting Afghans to fight in Syria

February 2015 photo of Qassem Soleimani (Left), commander

 of Quds Force with Afghan commanders killed in Syria

The Iranian regime has dispatched thousands of foreign mercenaries including Afghan refugees to fight in Syria and prop up the embattled regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to sources of the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Incapable of mobilizing and dispatching necessary troops from Iran to the conflict and apprehensive of a backlash within its forces due to rising IRGC casualties, the regime has resorted to mobilizing the mercenaries using various tactics including threating them with execution.

n recent years, particularly Afghan refugees living in Iran have been tapped for this purpose. The Iranian regime has threatened the refugees with deportation from Iran, imprisonment or even execution (all serious violations of human rights) to dispatch the Afghan refugees to Syria.

Fmr Jordanian ambassador to Iran condemns missile attack on Camp Liberty

Dr. Bassam al-Omoush, a former Jordanian minister 

Dr. Bassam al-Omoush, a former Jordanian minister of administrative development and former Ambassador to Tehran, has called for Iraq’s National Security Advisor Faleh Fayyad to be replaced and international protection be provided to members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty in Iraq.

Dr. al-Omoush issued a statement regarding the October 29 missile attack on Camp Liberty and reminded the international community of its responsibility to secure the wellbeing and protection of the camp’s residents.

Excerpts of his statement:

On October 29, 2015, a deadly attack on Camp Liberty by elements of Iranian regime in the government and security forces of Iraq led to hundreds of casualties among the camp’s residents, including 24 dead, and the destruction of large sections of the camp. Located in one of the most protected areas of Baghdad and near the Baghdad International Airport and place of deployment of U.S. forces, this attack on the camp would have been impossible without the collaboration of part of the Iraqi state and security apparatuses.

A year and a half after the removal of Nuri Maliki from power in Iraq, the file of Camp Liberty remains in the hands of Faleh Fayyad, a well-known element of the Iranian regime who has been directly involved in the massacres of the residents over the past seven years.

Despite many international calls, the government of Iraq continues to dodge its responsibilities in protecting the camp and has not initiated any investigations into the October 29 massacre.

Moreover, Iraqi forces are barring attempts to normalize the conditions in the camp devastated by the missile attack and are also hampering delivery of food, fuel and basic needs to the residents.

We are thus calling on our own government, the United Nations, the U.S. government and the European Union to compel the government of Iraq to live up to its commitments to the residents, and in particular:

1. Camp Liberty should be designated a refugee camp under UNHCR supervision to ensure residents’ security by the UN.

2. Immediate needs of Camp Liberty should be provided following the missile attack to normalize the condition of the camp.

3. Camp Liberty’s file should be removed from the hands of Faleh Fayyad, and those managing the camp ought to be replaced with individuals not associated with the Iranian regime.

4. The residents should be allowed to sell their property in [Camp] Ashraf or be reimbursed for it to be able to provide for their expenses.

IRAN - Forozan Abdipour, member of Iran national volleyball team

Forozan Abdipour, member of Iran national volleyball team

to all volleyball fans: In memory of Forozan Abdipour, member of national volleyball  team who was executed in 1988 by the Iranian regime

Ms. Abdi was born in Tehran in 1957. She was the captain of the National Volleyball team and a sympathizer of the PMOI. According to her cellmate, Ms. Abdi was very popular among other inmates.

Her cellmates remember her for her open-mindedness and tolerant attitude towards other political prisoners. In one instance, her cellmate recalls, when a repenting prisoner who was in charge of the cell ordered another prisoner to separate her dishes from the others (because prison authorities treated prisoners who did not believe in God as “unclean”), Ms. Abdi had intervened and stressed that “no one considers the prisoner as ‘unclean’ and whoever does, should separate her own dishes from others”. Ms. Abdi had also kept her athletic spirits during her years of imprisonment and organized volleyball games during the short period when female prisoners had access to a volleyball court at Qezelhesar prison.

Arrest and detention

She was arrested in 1981.

One of her cellmates saying: "I saw her in section 8 of Qezelhesar in 1982. It was a section for special punishment and sometimes there were 25 to 30 people in a cell [that was meant to fit 3]... They placed Foruzan and some others in a restroom in early 1983. The place was so dirty that all of them contracted skin diseases. Then, they were transferred to solitary confinement at both Gohardasht and Qezelhesar prisons where they stayed until early 1986."

Ms. Abdi was protesting against the inhuman rules and behaviour of prison guards. As a result, for almost a year and half (fall 1983 - winter 1984), she was held in solitary confinement and was deprived from recreation time outside, from having contacts with others, reading newspapers, and having regular visits from her family.

Sometime in 1986, Ms. Abdi was transferred from Gohardasht to Evin prison where she was detained until her execution. During this period, she also spent most of her imprisonment in the closed section of the ward that prison authorities used for punishing prisoners. Those held in this section were held in closed cells and were allowed to leave their cells 3 times a day (for 30 minutes), during which time they could use the bathroom, wash their dishes and their clothes.

Forozan Abdipour was executed along with 30 000 other prisoners, mostly PMOI, when the Iranian regime carried out the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.

Today, women are fighting to enter volleyball stadiums to watch games. Forozan Abdipour, member of national volleyball volleyball team was executed in 1988 by the Iranian regime for wanted all women to live in freedom and democracy.

No news of Iran political prisoner for nearly 2 months

political prisoner Misaq Yazdan-Nejad

Seven weeks have passed since political prisoner Misaq Yazdan-Nejad was moved into an isolated ward of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, with the regime giving no information during this time to his family about his state.

Mr. Yazdan-Nejad is a relative of a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty.

He was arrested at his home on September 10, 2007 by agents of the regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and sentenced by the fundamentalist regime's kangaroo courts to 13 years in prison for attending a ceremony to mark the 19th anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30000 political prisoners in Iran. At the time he was a linguistics student in Payam-e Nour University.

On October 26, Mr. Yazdan-Nejad was transferred out of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, ostensibly for medical treatment; but instead of taking him to a hospital, the regime's agents transferred him to Ward 2A of Evin Prison, a notorious secluded ward which is run by agents of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

He has not been given visitation rights to see his family at Evin Prison.

Mr. Yazdan-Nejad who has spent more than eight years in prison, including at least eight months in solitary confinement, had previously been arrested for visiting his sister, a member of the PMOI (MEK), in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

Misaq’s father and mother have previously endured three years of imprisonment, and three of his uncles were martyred by the regime for supporting the PMOI (MEK).

Iranian Dissidents Mark Passing of Dissident Mehri Jannatpour

Mehri Jannatpour - Dr. Mohammad Maleki

On December 3rd 2015, Iranian dissident and activist Mehri Jannatpour passed away. Jannatpour was remembered for her bravery and perseverance as a political activist in Iran over the last 40 years. This included three separate terms served in prison for her support and affiliation with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), one of Iran’s principal opposition organizations.

During her imprisonment Jannatpour was subjected to cruel mistreatment and torture, yet she remained steadfast in her beliefs and resistance. Not only was Jannatpour a symbol of resistance as an uncompromising dissident, but she was also remembered for her dedication and care as a mother. Her children were raised to continue her path of resistance and defiance, and remain actively involved in confronting the Iranian regime and its crimes.

Mehri Jannatpour was honored by Iranian dissidents at her funeral service, including Dr. Mohammad Maleki, the first post-revolution Chancellor of Tehran University, who, like Jannatpour has continued to stand with dignity and defiance in the face of the dictatorship in Iran despite his old age.

Maleki delivered a eulogy on December 5th in which he praised Jannatpour as an activist and as a mother, and lauded the path chosen by her children. Including one of her children who is residing in Camp Liberty, Iraq, which was recently the target of a despicable terrorist attack.

 “But, they are persevering and are as solid as a mountain. They are this mother's children. How fortunate she was! There are many who come into this world, "enjoy" life and die. But the fulfillment experienced by such mothers is different.”

Maleki continued his eulogy in open defiance of the regime by openly praising the path taken by Jannatpour and her children. This path includes standing with the PMOI against the regime in Iran. The penalty for such a stance is normally death, yet Maleki spoke unwaveringly and resolute in his praise for this path, and referenced the 1988 massacre against members of the PMOI as proof that violence and repression cannot crush this movement.

“I am reminded of a quote by the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri who wrote to Khomeini in a letter that rest assured, an idea cannot be killed through murder. You have killed so many, you have beaten so many, you have destroyed so many.”

He added, “This will be so as long as there are people who care for their people, and as long as there are people who say "seek freedom from cradle to grave."

Very rarely is such public defiance exhibited in Iran, and in such a bold fashion and in such powerful forum. At one point Maleki even states, “Let them hear me, and record me, those who are responsible for this.” Whether you agree with the political ideology expressed by Jannatpour or Maleki, it is impossible to deny their courage and the price they have paid in fighting for freedom in Iran.

The speech given by Maleki was just as remarkable as the life lived by Ms. Jannatpour. Both embody the passion and bravery of Iran’s history, people and hopes.

Maleki has led silent protests outside of Evin Prison to call for the release of political prisoners, and has been in and out of prison himself over the last decade. Maleki’s courage as an elderly man mirrors that of Jannatpour, and his bravery against the brutal regime is an inspiration to all Iranians.

Hamid Yazdan Panah is an Iranian-American human rights activist and attorney focused on immigration and asylum in the San Francisco Bay Area.

West must end wrong policy toward Iran: Ex Prominent European lawmaker

Dr. Alejo Vidal-quadras, former vice-president of the European Parliament

Dr.Alejo Vidal-quadras, former vice-president of the European Parliament and current president of In Search of Justice NGO, at a conference entitled “United Against Islamic Fundamentalism,” held in Paris on 8 December 2015.

We have to admit that what this happened at least from the 9/11 tragedy onwards was predicted by the Iranian Resistance long time ago.

They had shown us the solution, in early 90s, when the term “Islamic fundamentalism” was not even familiar to many people.

They declared – the PMOI [The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran] – they declared the Islamic fundamentalism as the new global threat.

My distinguished friend Mohammad Mohaddessin, wrote a book under this title, more than 20 years ago; a book that I strongly recommend, really, because many of his insights are still valid today. But the western analysts were saying it was an exaggeration. Unfortunately, the biter reality of 9/11 proved that Mohammad Mohaddessin and the PMOI were right.

But again, the United States and Europe took a wrong path and instead of focusing on the heart of this evil phenomenon, which is the regime in Tehran, they deviated their attention onto other problems and objectives.

Twelve years ago, Mrs. Rajavi warned that the threat of the mullahs interference in Iraq is many times more dangerous that their nuclear bomb. But there was no one to listen. We have opened, naively, Iraq’s gates to Iranian influence and control.

Despite many warning by the PMOI, we closed our eyes on the invasion of Iraq by the Iranian regime. This broad regime, hundreds of kilometers closer to Israel, and the Mediterranean had increased its influence in Lebanon and in Syria. Had we got the regime’s hands in Iraq at the time, we wouldn’t have Daesh today, nor would we have Assad or Hezbollah in Syria.

Very recently, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have crossed the Iraqi borders in a large operation of invasion organized by the Quds Force and led by General Soleimani.

In spite of all that, we see high representatives Federica Mogherini or Secretary John Kerry or many ministers of Western governments rush to Tehran to appear in photographs shaking hands and smiling to the Iranian authorities.

In Spanish we have a saying that says in English “there is no worse blindness as that of those who do not want to see”. And this is what is happening. What Senator Lieberman said to us some minutes ago, was so clear, so convincing, so… it was so impossible to deny. But I’m sure if he has a conversation on this with President Obama or Secretary Kerry, a conversation that he can’t obviously have, I’m sure they would not listen. Because in Europe we have the same problem. Governments, do not listen. The PMOI has a large support in parliamentarians. And also in local authorities as well. But governments do not listen. This is something we must change and perhaps you can guide us in how to make governments listen.

Today, we must put an end to this wrong policy. Anything that would bolster Iranian terrorism, be it Shiites or Sunnis, anything that prolongs the life of Assad will reinforce Daesh.

Nobody has paid the price that the PMOI, a truly democratic movement, and President Rajavi have paid in fighting against Islamic fundamentalism. No one is so much familiar with the geography and history of the people of these regions, and with Sunnis and with Shiites Muslims. They have been fighting against religious dictatorship for 37 years. So, if we do not listen to their call today after all these tragedies, history will not forgive us.