CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE 1988 MASSACRE OF 30,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

Human rights, in particular, bringing to justice the officials involved in the 1988 massacre, should be at the core of Iran policyHuman rights defenders, dignitaries, European politicians and the Iranian Resistance called for the formation of an international commission of inquiry into the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988 and bringing those responsible for this genocide and crime against humanity to justice.

They stressed that the issue of human rights should be at the core of the West’s policy on Iran. They urged the UN, EU and the US to put the issue of flagrant and systematic violation of human rights in Iran on top of their agenda.

The call was made during an exhibition on the 1988 massacre that took place upon the initiative of Mr. Jean-François Legaret, the Mayor of Paris municipality District 1 at this municipality on Thursday, August 17, 2017.

In addition to Mr. Legaret, several French mayors including Armand Jacquemin, mayor of Moussy Le Vieux, Jean-Claude Jegoudez, mayor of Grisy-Sur-Seine, and Jacky Duminy, mayor of Ors took part and spoke at the exhibition.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, in a message to the exhibition said 30,000 political prisoners were hanged in Iran in days such as these in the summer of 1988, without any reaction by Western governments.

Those who remained silent over this tragedy betrayed humanity because the mullahs found out that their crimes had no consequences. So, they continued by exporting their terrorism and fundamentalism abroad and drenching the Middle East in blood.

If in those days, the massacre had not been met with silence, today, the mullahs could not sink Syria in a whirlpool of blood.

The people of Iran want to end the impunity of those in charge of the massacre and hold them accountable. This has turned into the Iranian people’s most important political demand from the clerical regime. We urge the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the 1988 massacre. The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.
Mrs. Rajavi once again urged all governments to make their relations and trade with the religious fascism ruling Iran contingent on an end to executions and torture.

Governor Yves Bonnet, the former head of France’s domestic anti-terrorism organization; Struan Stevenson, a Scottish politician, President of “European Iraqi Freedom Association” and former President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, were among the dignitaries who took part in this exhibition and supported the call by the head of the opposition.

In his remarks, Stevenson condemned the recent trip of EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to Iran and said: “Rouhani has been hailed in the West as a moderate and a reformist, despite the fact that more than 3,500 people, including 80 women, have been executed during the four years he has been in office, catapulting Iran into pole position as the world’s number one state executioner per capita. Several hundred people have been executed so far this year, including women and teenagers. Three days before Mogherini arrived in Tehran, Amnesty International published a 94-page report highlighting the ‘web of oppression’ that pervades Iran and detailing the catastrophic human rights situation in the country.”

He added: “The French government and the EU should also be demanding a full United Nations inquiry into the 1988 massacre, with Khamenei, Rouhani and their clique of killer clerics indicted for crimes against humanity and brought for trial before the international courts in The Hague.”

Khomeini, the founder of the clerical regime in the summer of 1988, in a fatwa that was unprecedented in the history of Islam, stated that all those who were imprisoned throughout Iran and were still loyal to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran should be executed. More than 30,000 political prisoners who were serving their terms were executed in a few months based on this criminal fatwa. The Death Commissions, in trials that lasted just a few minutes, sent to the gallows any of the prisoners who were not willing to condemn the PMOI (MEK). The victims were buried in mass graves in secret.

In spite of the mullahs’ attempts to impose silence on this crime against humanity and to prevent the spread of this issue in the society, the movement calling for justice for the victims of the massacre in Iran has expanded since last year and has evolved into a public issue. The Justice seeking movement in Iran managed to corner the mullahs.

Ali Khamenei intended to put a member of the 1988 massacre’s Death Commission in the office of president, but the nationwide campaign calling for justice foiled his plans.

During the last year, new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed, has surfaced.

The 1988 massacre and the conspiracy of silence has been an issue of consensus among the regime’s various factions and its senior officials.

Over the past four years, the mullahs’ president Hassan Rouhani had appointed Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, one of the key officials in charge of the 1988 massacre, as Minister of Justice. The new Justice Minister for his second term, Alireza Avaie, is another one of the perpetrators of the massacre, who has been already designated as a violator of human rights by the European Union.

A number of relatives of the victims and individuals who spent years in prison in Iran and were tortured shared their observations with the audience during the exhibition.

source : CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE 1988 MASSACRE OF 30,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

source : US TIES WITH IRANIAN OPPOSITION STRENGTHENING

source : ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN: IRAN’S CABINET CANDIDATES

source : 

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN: IRAN’S CABINET CANDIDATES

BY HESHMAT ALAVI

While humans lack the ability to see into the future, we do possess the power to analyze our world to predict what the future has in store for us. The result of Iran’s so-called presidential election back in May rendered a second term for the incumbent Hassan Rouhani. During Iran’s short election season, lasting no less than a month, the mullahs’ cunningly downgraded crackdown measures,

decreasing executions and increasing social freedoms to lure the general public into polling stations.

Nevertheless, the all-male slate of cabinet candidates presented by Rouhani to the parliament for approval provides a dark insight of what awaits the Iranian people and the international community. To make a long story short, these are names consisting of former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) members, hostage takers, executioners, torturers and thieves.

This is a signal of Iran fueling a future of further wars, crackdown, massacres, exporting terrorism and fundamentalism, and killing sprees targeting the region’s nations.

While Iran apologists and the appeasement camp misled the international community to naively describe Rouhani as a smiling “moderate,” his first term rendered over 3,000 executions and went mostly neglected. Knowing the Obama administration desperately needed a legacy-defining foreign policy achievement, Rouhani and the mullahs saw a green light to press the gas pedal on executions.

After deactivating the gallows shortly for the May elections, the mullahs returned to their true nature and resorted to over 100 executions in July alone. This consists of an average of at least one execution every eight hours.

This should be a wake-up call for European states that have banned executions altogether, and yet are willing to signature lucrative economic deals with Tehran, such as Airbus, Total and Renault.

Rouhani’s list of cabinet candidates has raised quite a stir. After providing a variety of promises during his election campaign, he failed to present even a single female minister candidate. Only under a wave of protests and pressures did Rouhani give in to naming three female vice presidents, providing nothing more than symbolic roles.

There are also reports indicating Rouhani ran through his candidates in close coordination with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This goes against Iranian political norms — Khamenei is known to have a say in a number of specific candidates, including the key ministers of defense, foreign affairs and intelligence.

Anger mounted during his first term over Rouhani’s ironic decision to appoint Mostafa Pourmohammadi as his justice minister. Pourmohammadi is known for his direct role in the notorious 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, mostly members and supporter members of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

And while Pourmohammadi is set aside in Rouhani’s second term cabinet, his replacement, Alireza Avaie, is adding insult to injury. Avaie also played a leading role in the 1988 massacre in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. The Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held a press conference in September unveiling Avaie’s involvement in executions of Younesco Prison in the city of Dezful. The majority of Iran’s Arab community are resident in the country’s southwest regions.

Other names in Rouhani’s cabinet indicate a bleak second term riddled with crackdown measures and going back on all election season promises.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi is appointed to serve as the new minister of communications and information technology. This is an individual who entered the mullahs’ hated Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) at the age of 21, becoming involved in interrogations, torture and censorship in his early days.

During the 2009 uprising Jahromi was appointed as the MOIS Director of Surveillance. He is known to have expanded this department and his appointment is seen as Rouhani’s attempt to confront the PMOI/MEK’s increasing popularity amongst Iran’s population through social media networks. Iran is known to have a young and very active social media population of over 40 million users.

Amir Hatami is set to become Iran’s new defense minister. Joining the ultraconservative and repressive IRGC Bassij paramilitaries at the age of 12, Hatami is known for his active and enthusiastic participation in the regime’s crackdown and killing campaigns. He is amongst the Bassij members tasked to join Iran’s classic army and quickly rose the ranks to provide the mullahs the influence they sought in this force. Hatami also played an important role in identifying, arresting and eliminating any army member showing even the slightest sign of patriotic devotion and acting against the mullahs’ interests.

Habibollah Beetaraf, Rouhani’s candidate for the new labor minister, was amongst the so-called “college students” who stormed the US Embassy back in 1979 and took 52 American diplomats hostage. He was one of the first IRGC members and participated in literally herding teenagers and even small children into minefields during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

Iran’s industry, mines and trade will be managed by Mohammad Shariatmadari, famous for actively playing a part in the regime’s crackdown and plundering. He is heavily involved in managing Khamenei’s conglomerate, known as the “Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam” – Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, controlling a large percentage of the regime’s economic empire. $95 billion is this massive entity’s estimated capital.

This lineup provides a dark glimpse into what the future will bring for the Iranian people and neighboring nations. For example, following July’s execution spree, the mullahs’ regime reportedly sent 13 individuals to the gallows on August 10th alone.

This atrocity included 11 hangings in a mass killing in the city of Birjand, eastern Iran; one execution in a small town in northern Iran; and the horrific execution of 20-year-old Alireza Tajiki, arrested at the age of 15 at the time of his alleged crime.

Amnesty International demanding Tehran halt this hanging fell on deaf ears and Iran’s mullahs once again proved their sinister cruelty and lack of respect for any humane values and international laws.

Rouhani’s second term will bring nothing but additional economic and social devastation, parallel to political crackdown, destructive meddling across the region and continuing Iran’s ballistic missile/nuclear drives. Rouhani neither has the will nor intention to bring about any meaningful change in this regime’s foundations, infrastructure, nature or approach.

What else is expected from an individual who for 40 years has actively participated in the regime’s oppression and warmongering. Rouhani was the first Iranian regime official to call for public executions to teach the Iranian people a lesson.

Despite claims otherwise, Rouhani is part and parcel of the mullahs’ establishment, and he, too, seeks to maintain this system intact and in power. Hence, the international community needs to understand no change will emerge from this medieval, reactionary-minded regime.

The Iranian people and their organized opposition finally deserve the support and recognition they have been deprived of for the past four decades.

source : ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN: IRAN’S CABINET CANDIDATES

Iran: The Lives of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Danger

Resistance expresses grave concern over the health and security of political prisoners on hunger strike in solitary confinement of ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran. All international human rights organizations, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur of Human Rights in Iran, Special Rapporteur on Torture are called upon to take urgent action to save the lives of these political prisoners.

Misters Abolqassem Fouladvand, Hassan Sadeghi, Saeed Masouri, Reza Akbari Monfared, Jafar Eqdami, Amir Qaziyan, Khaled Heradani, Zaniyar and Loqman Moradi who are in solitary confinement. A number of other ward 4 prisoners, including Misters Mohammad Banazadeh Amir Khizi, Pirouz Mansouri, Majid Assadi and Payam Shakiba are amongst the inmates who are also on hunger strike protesting repressive measures against ward 4 political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison. The authorities have banned these political prisoners from any family visits and placed them under pressures to end their hunger strikes.

The protesting political prisoners are amongst the inmates of hall 12 of ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison who were attacked on Sunday, July 30, insulted and beaten by prison guards, and forcefully transferred to hall 10 of this ward (NCRI Statement – August 1). Prison authorities have deprived these political prisoners of minimum hygiene products and decent clothing.

The religious fascism ruling Iran exerts its authority through executions, torture and detentions. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, with his “moderate” mask, are two sides of this medieval regime’s coin.

Senior Iranian regime officials must be placed before justice for their continuous and increasing crimes against the Iranian people. Any relation with Tehran must hinge on the mullahs’ improving the disastrous human rights situation and releasing all political prisoners without any preconditions.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 10, 2017

source : Iran: The Lives of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Danger

source : Iran: Call to Save 7 Prisoners on the Verge of Execution

U.S. Congress Sponsors Resolution Seeking Justice for MEK Members Massacred by Iran Regime in 1988

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31694:u-s-congress-sponsors-resolution-seeking-justice-for-mek-members-massacred-by-iran-regime-in-1988&catid=4:iran-general&Itemid=109

London, 22 Jun - Forty-Six US Congressmen and women have sponsored a resolution which calls on the US Government and its allies across the world to publically condemn the 1988 massacre of Iranian political prisoners and calls on the UN to launch an investigation into this crime against humanity.

Unlike much in Congress nowadays, Resolution 188 (officially titled: The condemnation of the Iranian government for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 and the invitation to call for justice for the victims) receives wide bipartisan support.

The main victims of the massacre were members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), an anti-fundamentalist group who espoused equal rights, a secular government and a ban on the death penalty, whom the Regime wanted to exterminate because the opposition was becoming too strong.

The resolution stipulates that those responsible for the brutal massacre of the MEK should be held to account for their roles. None of them have ever been punished for this slaughter, not even under the supposed moderate Hassan Rouhani; who interestingly cannot account for his whereabouts during the massacre.

Last year, the Iranian Resistance, which includes the MEK as its largest group, revealed the names of 59 current Regime officials who were involved in the massacre of the MEK, including “Justice” Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi. Head of the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges Hossein-Ali Nayyeri, and Ebrahim Raisi, a member of the Assembly of Experts and 2017 presidential candidate.

Some of the co-sponsors include:

• Michael McCaul (Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee)

• Ed Royce (Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee)

• Eliot Engel (ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee)

• Pete Sessions (the Chair of House Rules Committee)

• Barbara Comstock

• Tom MacClintock

• Bill Keating

• Brad Sherman

• Donald Young

• Judy Chu

Back in March, six human rights organisations who consult with the UN signed a joint statement calling for justice for the MEK titled: “The 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran constitutes a crime against humanity”.

They recommended that the UN appoint a commission to investigate the massacre of the MEK and that the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Asma Jahangir and Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, Pablo de Greiff, carry out an inquiry into the massacre.

Massacre of MEK

Then-Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini ordered a Fatwa to slaughter MEK members and supporters, even if they had already been sentenced to jail for their beliefs or already served their sentence in full.

The MEK supporters were put through a mock trial which lasted all of five minutes, where they were asked ‘What is your political affiliation?’ before being sentenced to death. They were then buried in secret mass graves and their families were given no information on them.

This move was criticised by then-heir to the supreme leader Hossein Ali Montazeri, who wanted the Death Commissions against executing pregnant women as it violated Shiite law and called the massacre "the greatest crime that the Islamic Republic of Iran has committed and the history will condemn us".

He was then stripped of his power and sentenced to house arrest until his death in 2009. His comments came to light last year, after his son, Ahmad, released the audio of the conversation online. Ahmad was then sentenced to 21 years in prison.

In February, a political science professor at Tehran State University, who supported President Rouhani admitted to the massacre on his website.

Sadegh Zibakalam wrote: “The Iranian regime, has killed thousands of MEK members just like killers of Imam Hossain (a 7th-century revolutionary Shiite leader who made the ultimate sacrifice for social justice in the face of corruption and tyranny). Thousands of members of the People's Mujahedeen opposition organisation (MEK) were killed without any trial and any proof of the crime on them, during the first years after the revolution.”

More about the People’s Mojahdin Organization of Iran (PMOI/ MEK)

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (Also known as MEK, or Mujahedin-e-Khalq / Mujahedeen-e-Khalq), was founded on September 6, 1965, by Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Ali-Asghar Badizadgan. All engineers, they had earlier been members of the Freedom Movement (also known as the Liberation Movement), created by Medhi Bazargan in May 1961.1
The MEK’s quest culminated in a true interpretation of Islam, which is inherently tolerant and democratic, and fully compatible with the values of modern-day civilization. It took six years for the MEK to formulate its view of Islam and develop a strategy to replace Iran’s dictatorial monarchy with a democratic government.

MEK’s interpretation of Islam

The theocratic mullah regime in Iran believe interpreting Islam is their exclusive domain. The MEK reject this view and the cleric’s reactionary vision of Islam. The MEK’s comprehensive interpretation of Islam proved to be more persuasive and appealing to the Iranian youth.

MEK’s founders and new members studied the various schools of thought, the Iranian history and those of other countries, enabling them to analyze other philosophies and ideologies with considerable knowledge and to present their own ideology, based on Islam, as the answer to Iran’s problems.

MEK’s leadership’s arrest during the 70s.

The Shah’s notorious secret police, SAVAK, arrested all MEK leaders and most of its member’s in1971. On May 1972, the founders of the MEK, Mohammad Hanifnejad , Saeed Mohsen and Ali Asghar Badizadegan, along with two members of the MEK leadership, Mahmoud Askarizadeh and Rasoul Meshkinfam, were put before death squads and were executed after long months of imprisonment and torture.
They were the true vanguards, who stood against the dictatorial regime of Shah. However, they are also recognized for their opposition to what is today known as Islamic fundamentalism.

The death sentence of Massoud Rajavi, a member of MEK’s central committee, was commuted to life imprisonment as a result of an international campaign by his Geneva based brother, Dr. Kazem Rajavi (assassinated in April 1990 in Geneva by mullahs’ agents) and the personal intervention of the French President Georges Pompidou and Francois Mitterrand. He was the only survivor of the MEK original leadership.

Massoud Rajavi’s critical role in characterizing religious extremism

From 1975 to 1979, while incarcerated in different prisons, Massoud Rajavi led the MEK’s struggle while constantly under torture for his leading position.

Massoud Rajavi stressed the need to continue the struggle against the shah’s dictatorship. At the same time, he characterized religious fanaticism as the primary internal threat to the popular opposition, and warned against the emergence and growth of religious fanaticism and autocracy. He also played a crucial role when some splinter used the vacuum in the MEK leadership who were all executed or imprisoned at the time, to claim a change of ideology and policy. Massoud Rajavi as the MEK leader condemn these individual’s misuse of MEK’s name while continuing to stress the struggle against dictatorship. His efforts while still in prison forced these individuals to no longer operating under the name of MEK and adopting a different name for their group. These positions remained the MEK’s manifesto until the overthrow of the shah’s regime.

Release of Political Prisoners on the last days of the Shah

A month before the 1979 revolution in Iran, the Shah was forced to flee Iran, never to return. All democratic opposition leaders had by then either been executed by the Shah’s SAVAK or imprisoned, and could exert little influence on the trend of events. Khomeini and his network of mullahs across the country, who had by and large been spared the wrath of SAVAK, were the only force that remained unharmed and could take advantage of the political vacuum. In France, Khomeini received maximum exposure to the world media. With the aid of his clerical followers, he hijacked a revolution that began with calls for democracy and freedom and diverted it towards his fundamentalist goals. Through an exceptional combination of historical events, Shiite clerics assumed power in Iran.

Khomeini’s gradual crackdown on MEK in fear of their popular support

In internal discourses, Rajavi the remaining leader of the MEK, argued that Khomeini represented the reactionary sector of society and preached religious fascism. Later, in the early days after the 1979 revolution, the mullahs, specifically Rafsanjani, pointed to these statements in inciting the hezbollahi club-wielders to attack the MEK.

Following the revolution, the MEK became Iran’s largest organized political party. It had hundreds of thousands of members who operated from MEK offices all over the country. MEK publication, ‘Mojahed’ was circulated in 500,000 copies.

Khomeini set up an Assembly of Experts comprised of sixty of his closest mullahs and loyalists to ratify the principle of velayat-e faqih (absolute supremacy of clerical rule) as a pillar of the Constitution. The MEK launched a nationwide campaign in opposition to this move, which enjoyed enormous popular support. Subsequently, the MEK refused to approve the new constitution based on the concept of velayat-e faqih, while stressing its observance of the law of the country to deny the mullahs any excuse for further suppression of MEK supporters who were regularly targeted by the regime’s official and unofficial thugs.

Khomeini sanctioned the occupation of the United States embassy in 1979 in order to create an anti-American frenzy, which facilitated the holding of a referendum to approve his Constitution, which the MEK rejected.

MEK’s endeavors to participate in the political process avoiding an unwanted conflict with government repressive forces

The MEK actively participated in the political process, fielding candidates for the parliamentary and presidential elections. The MEK also entered avidly into the national debate on the structure of the new Islamic regime, though was unsuccessful in seeking an elected constituent assembly to draft a constitution.

The MEK similarly made an attempt at political participation when [then] Massoud Rajavi ran for the presidency in January 1980. MEK’s leader was forced to withdraw when Khomeini ruled that only candidates who had supported the constitution in the December referendum – which the MEK had boycotted- were eligible. Rajavi’s withdrawal statement emphasized the MEK’s efforts to conform to election regulations and reiterated the MEK’s intention to advance its political aims within the new legal system”. (Unclassified report on the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI/ MEK) by the Department of State to the United States House of Representatives, December 1984.)

However, the MEK soon found itself in a direct struggle against the forces of the regime’s Supreme leader. The MEK’s differences with Khomeini dated back to the 1970s, and stem from its opposition to what is known today as Islamic extremism. Angry at the position taken by the MEK against his regime and worried about the MEK’s growing popularity, Khomeini ordered a brutal crackdown against the MEK and its supporters. Between 1979 and 1981, some 70 MEK members and sympathizers were killed and several thousand more were imprisoned by the Iranian regime.

June 20, 1981- Khomeini’s order to open fire on peaceful demonstration of half-a-million supporters of MEK

The turning point came on 20th June 1981, when the MEK called a demonstration to protest at the regime’s crackdown, and to call for political freedom which half-a-million supporters participated at. Khomeini ordered the Revolutionary Guards to open fire on the swelling crowd, fearing that without absolute repression the democratic opposition (MEK) would force him to engage in serious reforms – an anathema as far as he was concerned; he ordered the mass and summary executions of those arrested.

Since then, MEK activists have been the prime victims of human rights violations in Iran. Over 120,000 of its members and supporters have been executed by the Iranian regime, 30,000 of which, were executed in a few months in the summer of 1988, on a direct fatwa by Khomeini, which stated any prisoners who remain loyal to the MEK must be executed.

Having been denied its fundamental rights and having come under extensive attack at the time that millions of its members, supporters and sympathizers had no protection against the brutal onslaught of the Iranian regime, the MEK had no choice but to resist against the mullahs’ reign of terror.

“Towards the end of 1981, many of the members of the MEK and supporters went into exile. Their principal refuge was in France. But in 1986, after negotiations between the French and the Iranian authorities, the French government effectively treated them as undesirable aliens, and the leadership of the MEK with several thousand followers relocated to Iraq.” (Judgment of the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission, November 30, 2007.)

MEK Today

The MEK today is the oldest and largest anti-fundamentalist Muslim group in the Middle East. It has been active for more than a half century, battling two dictatorships and a wide range of issues. The MEK supports:

• Universal suffrage as the sole criterion for legitimacy

• Pluralistic system of governance

• Respect for individual freedoms

• Ban on the death penalty

• Separation of religion and state

• Full gender equality

• Equal participation of women in political leadership. MEK is actually led by its central committee consist of 1000 women.

• Modern judicial system that emphasizes the principle of innocence, a right to a defense, and due process

• Free markets

• Relations with all countries in the world

• Commitment to a non-nuclear Iran

The MEK remains a strong and cohesive organization, with a broad reach both worldwide and deep within Iran. MEK is the leading voice for democracy in Iran, supported by its interpretation of Islam that discredits the fundamentalist mullahs’ regime.

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31694:u-s-congress-sponsors-resolution-seeking-justice-for-mek-members-massacred-by-iran-regime-in-1988&catid=4:iran-general&Itemid=109

IRAN TAKES ACTION AGAINST INCREASING POPULARITY OF MEK

http://www.irannewsupdate.com/blog/3910-iran-takes-action-against-increasing-popularity-of-mek.html

During the summer of 1988 in Iran, some 30,000 political prisoners, the majority of whom were MEK members or sympathizers, were executed. The year is the 29th anniversary of the 1988 massacre.

Last summer, an audio tape was published by the son of Hossein-Ali Montazeri. August 9, 2016, the recording was heard for the first time, and on it Khomeini’s former heir can be heard telling a meeting of members of the “Death Committee” that they are carrying out a crime against humanity, 28 years ago, on August 15, 1988.

The tape sent shockwaves through Iran, as it adds new knowledge of the breadth and scope of the massacre and confirms that it involved the highest levels of leadership. For more than two decades silence has been imposed in regards to the massacre because, you see, Iranian leaders who held positions of power at that time, members of the notorious Death Commission, are still in leadership positions today.

They have never faced justice for committing this horrific crime against humanity.

Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was subsequently dismissed as the heir by Khomeini, and subsequently spent the rest of his life under house arrest, for the very remarks heard on the audio tape, tells members of the Death Commission, who include Hossein-Ali Nayyeri, the sharia judge, Morteza Eshraqi, the prosecutor, Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), “The greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you. Your (names) will in the future be etched in the annals of history as criminals.” He adds, “Executing these people while there have been no new activities (by the prisoners) means that … the entire judicial system has been at fault.”

Regarding the recent revelations, Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the audio recording as an historical document. Mrs. Rajavi said that the recording attests to the strength of the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) political prisoners’ rejection of surrender, to their admirable allegiance and the perseverance of their commitment to the Iranian people. She called the recording “irrefutable evidence that leaders of the mullahs are responsible for crimes against humanity and the unprecedented genocide.”

Following release of the audio tapes, the Iranian Resistance initiated a worldwide movement, and during the last 10 months both inside and outside Iran, have created a huge momentum against the ongoing violation of human rights in Iran.

In February 2017, Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI), published the details of numerous mass graves in Iran. Page 349 of the JVMI report, “Inquiry into the 1988 mass executions in Iran”, refers to the mass grave near the Behesht Abad Cemetery in Ahvaz. Then, Amnesty International published a news item on June 1, 2017 on its website, warning that the Iranian authorities may be attempting to desecrate a mass grave site in Ahvaz, southern Iran in an effort to destroy vital forensic evidence, and sabotage opportunities for justice for the mass killings of political prisoners that took place across the country in 1988.

While Iranian officials try to counter the effects of these revelations, growing sympathy for MEK members who were the main victims of this horrible massacre, and increased popularity of the opposition movement have resulted, instead.

In recent months, following a report published by The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, concerning the power and progress of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), officials have admitted the Iranian youth has tended toward the attraction of the Mojahedin (MEK), as well as the prestige of the Mojahedin at home and at the international level.

The director general of a state funded Habilian Foundation, Hashemi Nejad, stated, “We have held 300 exhibitions against MEK in Iran up to now. These days, MEK is getting recognized as a leading institute in Human Rights,” He added that the duty now, is to discuss Human Rights issues against MEK since Iranian youths are the target of MEK. According to Intelligence Ministry officials, a detailed research report against MEK, of more than 8,000 words, has recently been published in the Habilian website, affiliated to the Ministry.

“The Mojahedin Organization (MEK) is after… total change and removal of the Velayat-e faqih system in Iran…,” states the report.

It also discusses the role of MEK in exposing the Iranian’s administration secret projects to obtain nuclear weapons, saying, “Following exposure of the issue (nuclear weapons program), the media published reports in this regard and this was the beginning of a major crisis that resulted in the adoption of several resolutions and sanctions with the devastating effects which are still continuing.”

The Intelligence Ministry reminded the public of the role of Mojahedin in the 2009 uprising, and admitted its fear of uprisings and revolts being tied to the nationwide resistance and to the Mojahedin, and wrote, “Mojahedin (MEK)… were still looking for an opportunity to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran, until the beginning of 2009 elections followed by the street riots, the group seized the opportunity and issued statements and messages to prepare the ground for achieving their goals… One of the goals (of the MEK) in 2009 election was to remove Velayat-e faqih and change the regime.”

The Mojahedin’s advancement in the international arena was also pointed out, “…In addition, members of the (MEK) organization hold meetings in France from time to time… In the recent years, the Mojahedin organization has held campaign and meetings in every international events and communities, including the United Nations, against the country and the system.”

The report concluded by describing the methods to confront the MEK, such as, “Introducing and fully identifying the (MEK) organization (i.e. meaning distorting the image of the organization)… to prevent, in this way, people and new members from joining the organization which would lead to increased damage to the system,” and added, “Strengthening the borders and increasing the country’s defense power: By this action, we can prevent entry of the MEK members into the country… and so we will be able to avert and ward off the enemies of the system outside the borders.”

These confessions appear to show the power, in regards to social as well as popular status, of the MEK and NCRI are welcomed by the Iranian youth.

After the Mullahs were unable the failure to destroy the MEK by siege and missile attacks, and the Mojahedin were able to maintain the integrity of their organization and transfer themselves to a safe place, the regime is frightened, and they are trying to frighten the Iranian people with warnings about the danger of Mojahedin.

In another report, published in Habilian site, the Intelligence Ministry stated that intellectual (thought) danger of unarmed MEK is much more than the threat of armed MEK.

In an interview with Vatan Emrouz, September 4, 2016, the secretary general of the Habilian Institution, which is a branch of the Intelligence Ministry, Mohammad Javad Hashemi Nejad, had previously warned about the danger of the MEK revelations, stating, “Mojahedin in the areas of human rights and related issues are present in the European Parliament and in the U.S. and any places where there is opposition to the system …MEK is a dangerous force…”

This sense of danger may be attributed to the fact that the surge in power of the MEK has coincided with the divisiveness within the Velayat-e faqih system, as well as the unrest, in the form of vastly increasing protests and demonstrations, in Iranian society.

The assistance to the West by the MEK had assisted the West in revealing Iran’s secret nuclear missiles programme was also highlighted. To stop the youth from joining the MEK, the Regime attempts to present a twisted view of the Resistance Forces, which is the reason behind the exhibitions and movies like “Magaraye Nimroz”, a film by state run media, on screen now.

However, in the midst of the propaganda and hyperbole surrounding it, a political analyst attacked the film. Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at Tehran State University, and an associate of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was also responsible for dispatching of university students to war with Iraq during 80’s, criticized the film. He said, “The events in this movie are not reciting the reality of what has happened between the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and MEK in that era, we are condemning MEK, but have never asked why MEK fought back? As if they did it for no reason! This film is trying to imply that IRGC agents were kind and caring for humanity, (this is not true) we killed thousands of MEK members without any trials, just like the killers of Imam Hossain (a 7th century revolutionary Shiite leader who made the ultimate sacrifice for social justice in the face of corruption and tyranny).” Zibakalam’s confession clearly shows the ineffectiveness of such desperate moves to demonize the MEK.

In their recap of the report, The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) wrote, “The truth is that after the Mullahs were unable to destroy the MEK by inhumane siege and missile attacks, and Mojahedin were able to maintain the integrity of their organization and transfer themselves to a safe place, the Mullahs are frightened now. That is why the mullahs regularly yowl and whimper about the danger of MEK.”

“This fear and sense of danger is particularly due to the fact that the power and cohesion of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran has coincided on the one hand with the weakness and ultimate decay of the Velayat-e faqih system and the crises engulfing the ruling class, and on the other hand by the fact that Iran’s society is on the verge of explosion and ready for uprising and revolution and is only waiting for a spark,” they wrote.

Rouhani’s Reelection Solves Nothing

Usually, the hope is that after an election a country can move forward, the new leader’s agenda bolstered by a popular mandate. That is not the case with Iran. Hassan Rouhani’s second term as president was far from a win for Iran’s economy, Iran’s international standing, and certainly not for Iran’s people.

In the words of the only opposition posing an existential threat to the regime, the strong-arm tactics demonstrated by the regime during the election process further divided a regime already gravely weakened by an internal power struggle. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, foresees Rouhani’s second term as serving only to aggravate that power struggle, bringing about a crisis at the leadership level of the ruling theocracy.

In Rajavi’s view, given the current circumstances at home and abroad, it is crucial for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to consolidate if he is to maintain his regime’s balance and weather out the near-daily crises that Iran faces. Khameni’s failure to manipulate the election so as to make usher Ebrahimi Raisi, his chosen candidate, into the presidential palace was a major defeat which does not bode well for his regime’s longevity.

Many believe Raisi’s “coronation” was a non-starter because his candidacy trained a spotlight on the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Raisi sat on the “Death Commission” that administrated the executions. That horrific national wound never healed — instead, it erupted into public outrage, and regime insiders’ fear of the mounting demand for justice caused many clerics, even powerful figures within Khamenei’s faction, to distance themselves from Raisi.

ROUHANI’S EMPTY PROMISES WILL ONLY EXACERBATE THE INFIGHTING WITHIN THE REGIME — ALREADY AGGRAVATED BY THE CAMPAIGN — AND FALL FLAT IN THE FACE OF IRANIANS’ EXPECTATIONS AND DEMANDS

Despite their best efforts to maintain a modicum of discipline, a constant undercurrent of backbiting and badmouthing served only to highlight the role of both factions of the regime in the 1988 executions and other atrocities. In one swipe at his opponent during the election race, Rouhani declared that the only thing the ruling faction had known how to do for the past 38 years was “how to execute and imprison people.” Less than a month after the election 18 people were hanged in various cities in Iran.

The internal strife reflects failure of velayat-e faqih (absolute rule of the clergy) in resolving the most pressing social problems and growing discontent. Based on the admissions of the hand-picked candidates, the clerical regime has the support of only four percent of the population. Factions within the regime, including the one affiliated with Rouhani, are all competing against each other to gain the upper hand — not just in ruling but in embezzlement and plunder.

The slogan, “No to the charlatan, no to the executioner; my vote is [for] regime change” was heard across the country.  That prompted Khamenei’s decision to wrap up the whole election process in the first round, and Raisi was pushed to the sidelines. However incensed at being thwarted he might have been, Khamenei was not willing to risk widespread unrest during a second round, potentially sparking an uprising of disaffected youths like that which threatened to topple the ruling regime in 2009.

So Iran got Rouhani for a second term. For critics of Iran, there will be more of the same: human rights abuses, regional meddling, and export of terrorism — and expect euphoria among diehard Iran apologists inside the Beltway, who have set the bar very low when it comes to the expectations of the Iranian people.

Rouhani is a known commodity. In his first term, the Iranian people endured a harsh crackdown marked by a spike in executions unprecedented in a quarter century, and economic misery; the region saw increasing interference, violence and conflict. Rouhani promised that the sanctions relief and infusion of cash from the nuclear deal would bring economic relief for ordinary citizens; it hasn’t yet, and Trump’s harsh stance threatens to set Washington’s relationship with Tehran back decades. Sanctions were never the real cause of Iran’s economic collapse, though, and sanctions relief did not relieve Iran’s economy. As for the cash, it was spent to fuel wars in the region and increase the budget of the military/security apparatus.

Rouhani’s empty promises will only exacerbate the infighting within the regime — already aggravated by the campaign — and fall flat in the face of Iranians’ expectations and demands. Mandate or no, he will fall short of altering the foundations, structure and behavior of the regime.

For the past 38 years, Rouhani has proven his allegiance to the Supreme Leader while serving at the highest levels of the regime’s security and military apparatuses.  Portraying him as a moderate who will set Iran on a new path is futile. As Rajavi pointed out, Iran’s problems will not be solved unless and until their root cause — the theocratic regime — is ousted by the Iranian people.

Widening Rifts in Iran Regime

London, 22 Jun - There are further reports of a widening rift between the opposing factions in the Iranian Regime, which could spell the mullahs’ downfall.

The Guardian reports that Supreme Leader Alii Khamenei has become increasingly critical of President Hassan Rouhani, probably in response to Rouhani’s criticism of him on the campaign trail, with Khamenei even going so far as to humiliate him during a meeting of top officials.

However, just to be clear, the two men and their respective factions are not separated by policy or ideals as most political opponents are. They are merely trying to retain and increase their grasp on power.

The real divide

There is no moderate V hardliners fight in the Regime; Rouhani despite his façade of rebellion must ultimately bow to the wishes of Khamenei if he wants to remain in power. While this may seem like Rouhani is being restrained, he most definitely does not want to erode the powers of the Supreme Leader, a position he soon hopes to fill.

Rouhani knows that the most powerful man in the country is the Supreme Leader but Khamenei has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, which means that the Regime will soon need a new Supreme Leader. The best way for him to ensure a position as Supreme Leader is to hold the second most powerful position in the country, when the current Supreme Leader dies, which is the only reason that he fought so hard to be President.

Khamenei does not want Rouhani to follow him as Supreme Leader. He wanted to fix the elections in favour of Ebrahim Raisi, a member of the Death Commission that sent 30,000 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to their death in 1988, but was too scared of mass protests by the people of Iran.

Ali Ansari, director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at St Andrews University, said: “After the elections Khamenei was unhappy with the results and they’re trying to contain it.”

Khamenei even warned Rouhani against dividing the country, as happened in 1980-81, because the president who engineered that, Abolhassan Banisadr, was impeached and exiled.

The good news

Thankfully, as the Iranian Regime exposes itself as a bunch of power-hunger men, squabbling over the tiniest little thing, the Iranian Resistance is more than prepared to take over as the legitimate government.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran currently serves as a government in exile and enjoys support from around the globe. There is no more obvious show of this, than the Free Iran Rally on July 1, in Paris, where 100,000 politicians, activists, and dissidents will gather to champion president-elect Maryam Rajavi as the true leader of Iran.

Increasing Troubles With US and International Community Plague Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made a campaign pledge to focus his second term on lifting non-nuclear sanctions. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei approved the nuclear talks in 2012, before Rouhani’s term, so.’s success will need Khamenei’s blessing, and having non-nuclear sanctions lifted, will depend on whether Khamenei is willing to endure major setbacks, like he did with the nuclear deal.

Still, he may have no choice. The international community will soon be making demands on Iran to end to its support for terrorism and its ballistic missile program, as well as to begin respecting human rights by ending executions.

In fact, on June 13th, the US House of Representatives passed a bill condemning the 1988 Iranian massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Officially titled, “The condemnation of the Iranian government for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 and the invitation to call for justice for the victims”, Resolution 188 received bipartisan support in an increasingly partisan Congress.

In response to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remarks in Riyadh, saying Iran must end its ballistic missile tests, Rouhani said, “We will test our missiles whenever needed, waiting for no one’s permission.” But such testing is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

Rouhani responded to both US President Trump and his top diplomat when they demanded that Tehran bring an end to its terrorism in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, and end its financial support for the Lebanese Hezbollah, “In the region, Iran has been able to stand in the face of terrorism… sending its diplomats and military advisors to Iraq, Syria and other nations…”

In Iran, however, Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards, the IRGC, make the decisions.

In Syria, the IRGC dispatched a column of proxy forces to take over a base near the town of Tanef, near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border, reportedly just one day after the Iranian elections. Syrian opposition and US Special Forces are stationed on the site. The US launched an airstrike in response that targeted the incoming force.

Marking the second incident in a week, where the US targeted positions associated with Iran’s militias in Syria, including Hezbollah, an international coalition warplanes struck a Hezbollah base in Syria’s Deir Ezzur.

Additionally, a US Navy warship fired warning shots towards an approaching IRGC boat. US Navy 5th Fleet spokesman said the warship transmitted numerous unseeded messages to the boat, forcing it to resort to warning shots.

Saudi missile air defense systems shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis, and despite numerous failures, Iran has continues to raise its support for the Houthis. It’s been reported that Tehran is smuggling chemical weapons to Yemen.

Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister, emphasized that the Arab World will judge Iran by its actions, not words. “Iran is planning terrorist networks in Arab countries, supplying arms to militias seeking to disrupt our security,” he said, adding “Tehran has been refusing al-Qaeda leaders for more than 15 years and facilitate their measures.”

It has also been reported that the Arabic Islamic American summit has established a 34,000 strong military force aimed at confronting terrorism, set to begin operations in early 2018.

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), welcomed the new initiatives and called on the international community to end all relations with Iran’s regime, to expel its representatives from international organizations, and to blacklist the IRGC and have them evicted from the region.

Rajavi also welcomed the sanctions resolution against the Iranian regime by the US Senate and the House of Representatives. She called the resolution an imperative and significant step toward preventing the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons. She also said she hopes that the US government will implement the resolution immediately.

The current state of affairs provides the international community, along with the US, a chance to stand with the Iranian people in their struggle against the regime, and to be on the right side of history.

Youth Supporters of MEK: Responsibility to Attend Iranian Opposition Convention - See more at: http://newsblaze.com/world/middle-east/youth-supporters-of-mek-responsibility-to-attend-iranian-opposition-convention_81579/#sthash.s3W9Vcqu.dpuf

On July 1st thousands of Iranians will gather in Paris to support the movement to obtain freedom and democracy for their homeland. The convention is organized each year by the Iranian opposition movement (PMOI/MEK). Iranian youth especially look forward to this event as it’s a time to come together and support human rights.

Too often we hear about the arrests, ill-treatment, and executions of Iran’s youth population.

Reports indicate 10 inmates were executed merely a few days after the 2017 Iranian elections, including 30-year-old Abdulkarim Shahnavazi. Reports also emerged that 24-year-old Diyako Hashemi was killed under torture by Iranian intelligence agents. Two men in their 30s were sentenced to have their fingers amputated and 90 children were also arrested in Sepidan, central Iran. The Iranian regime has a history of raiding gatherings and parties, and imprisoning the attendees, which has heightened during the past few years.

Political prisoner Ms. Atena Daemi was recently on hunger strike for 54 days protesting against the arrest of her sisters. Political prisoner Arash Sadeghi was previously on hunger strike for 71 days protesting against the imprisonment of his wife, Golrokh Iraee.

3000 Executed Under Rouhani

Over 3000 were executed during President Hassan Rouhani’s first term, including many in their 20s and 30s. By targeting the youth and spreading fear in society, the regime aims to prevent anti-government uprisings. It must be mentioned that many of those executed haven’t received fair trials or proper due process.

Youth supporters of the PMOI therefore believe the Iranian opposition convention is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness and bring attention to the plight of their people.

Iranian youth.Voice of the Voiceless

Ehsan Qaraee, a civil engineering student in Norway, will attend the convention for the 5th time since he left Iran. While living inside Iran, Qaraee recalled witnessing young children working and begging people in the streets to buy flowers or gum from them, to make money for their family and put food on the table. These children would have to leave their schooling behind.

“As long as this regime is in power, I realized the suffering will continue. By participating in the Iranian opposition convention, I can be the voice of those children; voice of the voiceless,” Qaraee said.

He also mentioned that events such as the upcoming July 1st convention establish a sense of hope for Iran’s oppressed population.

“Gatherings like this can bring hope among people in Iran, specifically to youth and women who are direct targets of the regime,” he added.

Not only does Qaraee believe this convention would benefit freedom-loving Iranians, but Syrians and all who seek peace in the Middle East.

“The only solution to end these human rights violations in Iran and the region is to help the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance overthrow this barbaric regime and establish a state based on democracy, freedom and respect to its neighbors,” Qaraee continued.

In Syria, the regime of Iran has aided President Bashar al-Assad with troops, money, and weapons, which has led to increased bloodshed.

Supporting Iran’s Oppressed People

Nargis Rahmanfard, a psychology student in London, has been attending the annual convention since 2004. She was born in Ahvaz and left Iran along with her family when she was just 7 years old.

“The arresting of young people at parties, the poverty, suppression of ethnic minorities, suppression of women in Iran are violations that do not have a place in the 21st century, yet are enforced every day to keep the regime in power,” Rahmanfard said.

She spoke of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 27-year-old woman executed for defending herself against sexual assault by an Iranian intelligence member. By putting her under torture, the government demanded Jabbari recant her story, but Jabbari refused.

“She was executed for defending herself against sexual assault by a regime agent and until the very last minutes of her life she refused to back down,” she explained.

Rahmanfard went on to highlight the significance of this upcoming gathering and feels that as an Iranian youth it is her responsibility to attend.

“I believe that all freedom-loving Iranians have a duty to come together and spread awareness about what is happening behind closed doors … As an Iranian youth, I feel it is my duty to represent other youth my age inside Iran and those that do not have the same opportunities I do,” Rahmanfard continued.

“If they are risking their lives in Iran, how can I, as a citizen living in a free country, not do anything to take at least a little of the weight off their shoulders?” she explained.

Maryam Rajavi’s 10-Point-Plan for a Future Iran

Qaraee and Rahmanfard are also supporters of Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point-plan for a future Iran. Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and advocates a free, democratic, and secular Iran.

Qaraee and Rahmanfard both support Rajavi’s call for separation of church and state and reiterated its importance as its non-existent under the mullahs’ regime. Many are persecuted and imprisoned simply because of their faith.

“In a future and free Iran, Christians, Jews, Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs and all others who make Iran beautiful should be able to live together in peace,” Rahmanfard said.

The July 1st Paris convention will be a platform for Iranian youth to unite, chant against the regime and join the call for its overthrow. They support the movement for democracy led by Rajavi, with hopes that soon the people of Iran will be freed from the mullahs’ dictatorship.

- See more at: http://newsblaze.com/world/middle-east/youth-supporters-of-mek-responsibility-to-attend-iranian-opposition-convention_81579/#sthash.s3W9Vcqu.dpuf