النساء في سجون إيران.. تاريخ من الإهانة والاغتصاب..!

Evin Prison: The Iranian regime’s notorious torture factory

The Iranian regime lives in constant fear of an uprising to overthrow it. Such is its paranoia where opposition groups are concerned it has spent the whole period of its existence, eliminating dissenters.

The approach to any form of opposition shows how insecure this regime has become. But as far as extreme brutality is concerned, it could not be more prevalent than that of the regime’s treatment of dissidents at Evin Prison, where guards use torture to humiliate their captives before executing them.

Through the despicable acts taking place here, the lack of humanity shown by the prison authorities toward all those who speak out against the regime, mirrors the insecurities of the entire state.

Located at the foot of the Alborz mountains in northern Tehran, Evin Prison was originally constructed in 1972, under the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It was then operated by his infamous security and intelligence service (SAVAK).

Opponents of the Shah

Thousands of political prisoners were incarcerated there during that period, including many supporters of the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), fierce opponents of the Shah, and it was from this point on, its reputation of hell on earth had begun.

With Evin Prison being one of the most notorious prisons in the world, just the mention of its name conjures up emotions of fear and foreboding in the hearts of ordinary Iranian citizens, as it has become synonymous with political repression, mass hangings and torture.

This infamous place is where those entering find themselves at the mercy of brutal prison guards, who at this point in time, operate under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Secret Service (VAVAK).

Female prison guards walk along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison June 13, 2006. (Reuters)

No legal representation

Teachers, writers, journalists, students, lawyers and academics, in fact anyone who speaks out against the regime, can find themselves thrown into Evin Prison. After trials without legal representation, the accused are found guilty of vague crimes on erroneous evidence, and are either condemned to serve long prison sentences.

Although the Iranian regime has continuously denied it, Evin Prison is known to be a virtual torture factory, where countless numbers of inmates have met their fate. Due to the number of intellectuals imprisoned within its walls, the prison has been nicknamed Evin University.

With Evin being a prison that is extremely overcrowded, hygiene is poor and in Iran’s sweltering hot summers, the heat can reach up to 45 degrees Celsius. There is no form of air conditioning, and the air within cells becomes rank with sweat and human waste. Water quality is bad and food comes in meagre portions and is barely edible. Medical facilities are virtually non-existent.

Breaking resolve

This whole process is designed to break the resolve of political prisoners, where the pressure for a confession is kept up until the captive breaks his silence. Then designed to add to this anguish, all contact with the outside world is cut off, family visits and telephone calls are forbidden, and even the guards are ordered to be silent.

Countless numbers have been driven insane by this treatment, many smashing their heads against the wall of their cell in anguish, while others have attempted suicide, but such is the security at Evin, no prisoner has been known to have escaped.

Inside Evin’s fetid dungeons, there are vents on the wall opposite the window, where a sturdy metal door stands, and at the bottom of the door is fitted a flap, for the prison guard to slide food through to the prisoner, while at the top of the door there is a flap used for communication.

One group of prisoners that has suffered the most at Evin Prison is the PMOI/MEK, thousands of its members have been held there over the years since the revolution.

Iranian women prisoners sit inside their cell in Tehran's Evin prison June 13, 2006. (Reuters)

The 1988 massacre

With countless numbers having been incarcerated at the time of the now infamous 1988 massacre, thousands of their number can be added to the 30,000 dissidents that were murdered across Iran. This was done under the orders of the then Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini to execute all those who opposed his regime.

After the execution, corpses would be transported in the dead of night to one of the numerous mass graves, which came in the form of deeply dug channels, secretly excavated in various isolated locations across the country, areas dubbed by their executioners as Lanat-Abad (The Place of the Damned).

But to this very day, nothing has changed at Evin. Untold abuses still take place, while the words of human rights activists fall on deaf ears. Rather than denouncing the regime with the harsh condemnation it rightly deserves, the world has virtually ignored the abuses carried out in its prisons and on its streets, offering the leadership more in the way of lucrative transactions like the Iran Deal, rather than that of hard-hitting sanctions that cut deep.

MEK/PMOI Popularity Threat to Iranian Regime's Existance

For many associated with the Iranian lobby and appeasers of the clerical regime in Tehran, the best way to prop up the regime is to discredit any alternative options presented to the international community. In addition, the lobby and appeasers continue to stress that regime change will lead to war. As an example, they point to the struggles of the Iraq government since the removal of Saddam by the U.S. and its allies.

However, history teaches us that any regime’s existence is limited when it begins with a violent upheaval. The current Iranian regime was born out of a revolution to end the rule of the Shah, but that revolution’s goal was to create a secular, pluralistic, and democratic Iran. However, the mullahs hijacked the revolution, creating a theocracy and suppressing any alternative political voices, including the MEK/PMOI.

Instead, to consolidate their power, the Iranian regime has relied on the typical tools of oppression, including the creation of a paramilitary and judiciary system that touches every section of Iranian society. The regime, using its lobby and appeasers, have been quick in attacking any publication or personalities that dare to speak up about the quest of the Iranian people to achieve their original dream of a democratic Iran.

Anyone who dares to talk about “regime change” is targeted for repressive measures. The MEK/PMOI have been high on the regime’s list, since the MEK/PMOI are the most dedicated and organized opposition with extensive routes and support at home, with the ability to materialize regime change.

The people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has been the subject of propaganda campaigns by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) at home and by regime lobbies and appeasers throughout the international community. This campaign is focused on discrediting the MEK/PMOI, by saying there is no democratic alternative to the Iranian regime and that regime change will result in war and increased instability within the region.

But why is the MEK/PMOI being targeted so directly? The MEK/PMOI is the oldest, largest, and most popular resistance movement within Iran. They form the core of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is a coalition of opposition groups from all sectors of Iran. The PMOI/MEK was founded in September 1965 by three Iranian engineers who wanted to replace the Shah’s dictatorship with a democracy.

It is this continued support of democracy that has kept the MEK/PMOI so popular among Iranians. The MEK/PMOI believes that Islam is inherently tolerant and democratic, and fully compatible with the values of modern-day civilization. This vision is the cure to the current spread of extremism, which can be traced back to Iran and its mullahs. Yet, during the time of upheaval after the revolution, the MEK/PMOI leaders witnessed Ayatollah Khomeini’s hijacking of the revolution to create his theocracy.

Khomeini’s response to the efforts of the MEK/PMOI to stop the rise of this theocracy was brutal repression throughout the 1980s, including the massacre of some 30,000 political prisoners who were primarily members or supporters of the MEK/PMOI. Despite the escalation of attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) throughout the years, the MEK/PMOI has never stopped promoting a pro-democracy vision of Iran. These actions demonstrated that the regime would only hold power by using brutality and repression to keep the Iranian people under their control.

Despite this, the MEK/PMOI has continued to receive support and demonstrations held throughout Iran show that the Iranian people are not cowed by the regime, but still believe in a free Iran.

In the recent 2017 election, hundreds of video clips and photos of banners and placards hanging from pathways and auto routes on billboards, were published on Telegram and YouTube channels, showcasing the vast magnitude of the activities of those who support the MEK/PMOI. The slogan, “My vote is regime change”, echoed throughout the country.

The regime’s election was therefore quickly ended in the first round to avoid further opportunities for protest. Yet, internally, the regime is suffering from deep divisions about how to ensure its survival, as the domestic unrest continues to grow.

Dr. Rafizadeh, a leading Iranian-American political scientist, president of the International American Council on the Middle East, and best-selling author in an opinion piece in Huffington post publishing 8 video clips of MEK activities inside Iran, wrote: “The activists of the network of the Iranian opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran and its group the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), inside Iran have been engaged in an extensive campaign nationwide, calling on Iranians to boycott the elections. Finally, from my perspective, it is critical to point out that Iranian leaders fear the soft power of oppositional groups more than the military and hard power of foreign governments. That is why Iranian leaders and media outlets normally react forcefully and anxiously to activities by the opposition such as the recent critical move, where Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently met with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Tirana, Albania. Iran’s oppositional groups can be a very powerful tool to counterbalance the Islamic Republic.”

This support has not gone unnoticed by the regime, whose leadership has continued to try to clamp down on the MEK/PMOI by blocking access to the internet and monitoring social media posts and clips. They have also tried to block the MEK/PMOI Telegram website and associated channels, only to be rejected each time.

In addition to using blunt force on people, the regime invests heavily in the massive propaganda effort it mobilizes through state-controlled media and via its lobbies and paid agents abroad, in order to discourage more support for the MEK, which is the main drive for regime change in Iran. The extent of the anti MEK propaganda has increased particularly after the July 1, 2017 gathering in Paris, which had a clear message, “Regime change in Iran is within reach.” Some 100,000 Iranian diaspora and supporters of MEK gave energy to it.

This is why it serves the regime’s purposes to continually dangle the threat of war over the heads of its people. It also helps the Iran lobby’s PR efforts to cast Iran like some poor, defenseless nation under threat by the big bad U.S. and its allies, such as Saudi Arabia or the Iranian resistance movement, the MEK/PMOI.

Trita Parsi, the head of the National Iranian American Council and staunch advocate for the Iranian regime, appeared on Bloomberg to beat the war drum again, as well as attacking the Trump administration for not living up to the Iran nuclear deal, even though Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the renewal of the compliance certification for another 90 days.

But the Trump administration also is asserting that Iranian regime’s development of ballistic missiles; support of terrorism and militancy; complicity in atrocities by the government of Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad; cyberattacks on the U.S.; and other actions “severely undermine the intent” of the nuclear accord and support additional sanctions as a response to these actions.

The real threat to the Iranian regime though lies not within sanctions, but in the simple acts of defiance that the Iranian people undertake themselves such as the hanging of banners on Tehran’s overpasses bearing the image of MEK/PMOI leader Mrs. Maryam Rajavi; an act punishable by death if the perpetrators were caught.

The regime is also threatened by every protest over low wages or unsafe working conditions. In many ways large and small, the process of regime change can happen slowly, methodically, and inexorably.

Mrs. Rajavi, in a recent speech at the annual gathering of the Iranian resistance movement and supporters of MEK/PMOI, opined that the movement did not require outside assistance from governments, such as the U.S., to succeed. It only needed the recognition by such governments to be empowered to bring about peaceful regime change and give birth to a democratic Iran.

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.)

TIME FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO PURSUE REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN

The Hill, July 26, 2017 - Consider three quotes that provide a way of looking back to look forward:President Obama in 2013 address to the United Nations :“We are not seeking regime change, and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy.”When asked whether the Trump administration supports “a philosophy of regime change in Iran,

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. would work with Iranian opposition groups toward the “peaceful transition of that government.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) echoed Tillerson’s view, saying “it’s time the Iranian people had a free and open society and a functioning democracy,” effectively a call for regime change.
The Obama quote reassuring the Iranian regime that its survival was not on the table stands in marked contrast to those of Tillerson and McCain, for whom the idea of regime change from the people of Iran is on the table, or at least under the table in and around the Trump White House.
On July 1, an event was held in Paris; there, I had conversations with Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who explicitly called for regime change from within Iran by supporting Iranian oppositionists, in particular, the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ).
Ditto for other Trump allies, including John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration. On July 1, Bolton, said:
“There is a viable opposition to the rule of the ayatollahs, and that opposition is centered in this room today. I had said for over 10 years since coming to these events, that the declared policy of the United States of America should be … to change the regime itself. And that’s why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran!”
The Way Forward
“Trump time” suggests a period of analysis of options as the President’s National Security Council reviews Iran policy. The review could present three options to Trump.
First, follow the Obama precedent of reassuring Tehran the United States will not challenge the rule of the unelected Ayatollahs. Trump and the Congress, however, are so strongly opposed to the Iranian regime, they are unlikely to countenance the Obama policy toward Iran, which Trump considers “appeasement.” Obama lost his bet that Iran would moderate its ballistic missile testing, state-supported international terrorism, and human rights violations. His nuclear deal was inconsistent with regime change from within, e.g., via a coalition of dissident groups.
Second, order preparations for the kind of coup d’état the CIA and British MI-6 intelligence service carried out in 1953, which overthrew a democratically-elected government in Iran. “All the Shah’s Men” describes how the coup occurred and the unintended negative consequences for Iranian perceptions of America for changing Iran’s government by covert action.
Indicative of this option is an editorial in The New York Times of July 18, which sounds the alarm that, “A drumbeat of provocative words, outright threats and actions — from President Trump and some of his top aides as well as Sunni Arab leaders and American activists — is raising tensions that could lead to armed conflict with Iran.”
But regime change from within is more than just an American issue. It is a “people of Iran” issue and what they want; it is not about the U.S. military going to war with Iran, as the editorial suggests.
Third, support the pro-democracy coalition of dissidents, the NCRI, which is best able to mobilize other oppositionists into an even wider coalition. Also, there’s a new sheriff in town, President Trump, and he expressed a strong presence in his Riyadh address: Trump the deal-maker but one with core principles like “Drive them out.”
“Drive them out of your places of worship,” Trump said of extremists, “drive them out of your holy land. Drive them out of this earth.”
After the July 1 rally in Paris, Fox News reported the next day the president might defy the Iranian regime by signaling his willingness to look kindly on the resistance: “The Trump administration is potentially considering seeking a strategy to try to topple the regime.” The resistance, however, only needs American political and perhaps economic support to effect “regime change from within.”
Even if he does not go so far as to topple the regime, Trump could increase his leverage against the Ayatollahs by supporting the resistance, conditioned on its continued eschewing of terrorist tactics. Doing so is bound to weaken an already faltering regime. In this respect, the tide is turning against Tehran in favor of the opposition.
The Bottom Line
The Iranian resistance benefits from aligning with the United States because the resistance is firmly in the camp of civilized states and does not commit acts of barbarism. Hence, President Trump is more likely to reach out to the Iranian opposition during his review of Iran policy than did President Obama, who valued the nuclear deal with Tehran too much to jeopardize it by opening up to the resistance.
Dr. Raymond Tanter (@AmericanCHR) served as a senior member on the National Security Council staff in the Reagan-Bush administration and is now Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan.

How blood of innocents has become an endless nightmare for Iranian regime

In Iran, 1980s is known as a bloody decade as thousands of political opponents were executed in brutal mass murder.

In the summer of 1988, a massive slaughter took place in Iran’s prisons. Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the successor of Khomeini, was dismissed as a result of his objection to this massacre.

In September 2016, an audio tape from a meeting of the late Ayatollah Montazeri with members of the committee of executioners (commonly known by Iranians as death committee) was published by his son, which led to his arrest and prosecution.

In the audio tape, Ayatollah Montazeri described this massacre as the worst crime in the history of the Islamic Republic, and named Ibrahim Raisi, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, Hossein Ali Nayeri and other coordinators as criminals.

Judgment against Islam

In a recent TV interview, Ali Fallahian, the minister of intelligence during the Rafsanjani government, said: “The view of Mr. Montazeri, who disagreed with Imam (Khomeini), was that these executions will ultimately cause a “historical judgment” against us, a judgement against Islam, so it is to our benefit not to conduct these executions, but Imam said that you must perform your religious duty and don’t wait for the judgment of history.”

The families of victims of 1988 massacre are currently seeking justice for their loved ones who were secretly executed and buried in mass graves at nights without any due process. The call for justice led by Iranian opposition, which started last year, caused a challenge for both of the regime’s factions during the presidential elections.

The created chaos between regime’s factions forced Khamenei to comment in a recent speech that “no one should be allowed to change the place of martyr and henchman in relation to the executions of the 1980s.”

What he meant was that the heads of this government are executioners in the eyes of the Iranian people, and this will create internal and international consequences that must be avoided.

Nimrooz movie

Additionally, state-controlled media released Khamenei’s praises about the “Nimrooz” movie, a production funded by the Iran revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) aimed at demonizing the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), a prominent opposition movement. The reason of making this film was to prevent another uprising similar to 2009, in which the MEK played a pivotal role in organizing protests against the regime.

After the release of the film, former political prisoners and families of executed prisoners condemned the events showed during this film and called it as a distortion of the reality in history.

In another hasty event, the Iranian regime put up a show, a tour of Evin Prison, to international delegations. The purpose of holding this tour for 50 ambassadors of different countries on July 5 was to destroy and wash the traces of the regime’s crimes. Amnesty International called this tour a “crude PR Stunt” and mentioned in a statement that Evin prison is known in the world as a symbol of wide political oppression in Iran.

The executed prisoners of the 1980s were members and supporters of opposition groups of the Iranian regime, such as the MEK, Marxists and Kurds. MEK members and supporters accounted for more than 90 percent of the victims. Beleaguered in Iraq in the post 2003 era, the MEK experienced a very difficult and dangerous situation, particularly over the last decade.

Under such circumstances this movement has been able to attract public sympathy through mass media, especially satellite and Internet. Currently, the Iranians and the International communities have become curious to acquire knowledge about this movement.

Inhuman seige

In face of an inhumane siege and the looming danger of further massacres, members of MEK put up a heroic persistence and defended themselves with bare hands and survived the many plots of their enemies. Eventually, the MEK members exited Iraq and resettled in Albania. Now, the MEK is finding a fast-growing following in Iran, especially among the youth, creating a serious challenge for the Iranian regime.

With the rise of the call for justice for 1988 massacre, the Iranian regime is trying to destroy the evidence of this brutal murder and discourage the youth from joining the opposition movement. It has produced a propaganda film to change the place of martyr and executioner, and destroyed the mass graves of executed prisoners.

The Iranian youth, even the children of regime officials, want to know the reality and the truth of what happened in the 1980s, and the history of the movement that recently held a huge gathering in Paris. Also, they want to know what message it conveys for them.

Meanwhile, Khamenei has ordered to produce another film for Assadollah Lajevardi, the former head of Evin prison known as “Evin hangman,” who was one of the criminals 1988 massacre. “Hopefully, you can do something for Lajevardi as well. He is one of the figures who deserves something. His name was mentioned in this film, but he is one of the persons that we called him ‘strong man’ before,” Khamenei said.

It seems the spilled blood of the innocents who were ruthlessly murdered in Iran is now undermining the foundations and the very existence of the Iranian regime. Sympathy for the victims and their family has now penetrated the depths of the Iranian society and has become an endless nightmare for regime.

As Rahimpour Azghadi, a Khamenei confidant has said, “the events of the ‘80s and 88 will uproot the regime, even if we have the largest missile in store.”

NOT NECESSARY TO PUT WAR BACK ON THE TABLE; IRAN IS AT WAR

Two years have passed since the signing of the ineffective nuclear agreement between world powers and Tehran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).For those who are familiar with the theocracy in Iran, it is a known fact that all foreign policy in Iran are decided by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. This is even true in the case of the highly promoted nuclear deal.

It is worth noting that before and during the negotiations, Khamenei, said that Oman had a key role in breaking the ice between Iran and the US.

Thus, it is naive to think that the new president, Hassan Rouhani, was the one who changed the 10-year-long stalemate. Iran has an abundance of oil, gas and others natural resources, hence, using nuclear energy is both expensive and controversial.

Independent experts acknowledge that Iran’s goal of maintaining a nuclear program is to produce nuclear weapon. However, Iran has consistently refused these views and claims that its program is of a peaceful nature.

Regional hegemony

It is worth pointing out that having a nuclear warhead will guarantee Iran’s regional hegemony. Therefore, Iran has consistently tried to achieve it. Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former Iranian president and one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic who died last year, said that Iran was trying to make nuclear bomb.

“When we first began, we were at war and we sought to have that possibility for the day that the enemy might use a nuclear weapon”, he said in an interview. Consequently, the regime in Tehran sought nuclear weapons in order to tilt the balance of power in the region in its favor.

The West imposed comprehensive sanctions against Iran targeting its finance sector and its selling of oil. These intelligent punitive measures exacerbated the Iranian economy that already suffered greatly from decades of economic mismanagement and widespread corruption, to the point of destruction, according to statistics from Iran’s own Central bank. The inflation was over 30 percent in 2013.

Iranian authorities confess that the greatest threat to theocracy is not a foreign enemy, like the US, but popular protests, especially by the disenfranchised poor people and youth

Economic poverty put immense pressure on the Iranian middle class, the Iranian government even tried to redefine the base basket of food (government subsidies to the Iranian middle class) to control the inflation. Rouhani's government even started to distribute especial food baskets. The regime’s National Security Council warned about hungry rebellion. Salaries of labors was unpaid and economic deadlock brought the government to its knees.

Although, Iran’s goal of making nuclear weapon was in reach and Tehran increased its intervention in the region, the economic crisis threatened the theocracy's very existence. Consequently, the Supreme Leader ordered his officials to start the negotiation with the West. This was president Obama giving artificial respiration to Tehran.

After the agreement

The sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear program. According to the JCPOA, Iran must redesign and rebuild its heavy-water reactor in Arak. It means that Iran’s abilities to develop and produce nuclear weapon is intensively limited for years. Some experts, diplomats and government officials argue that the sanctions achieved their goal.

But at that time, the JCPOA did not include the rest of Iran’s threatening and destabilizing activities such as its ballistic missile program, dispatch of tens of thousands of militias and paramilitary forces to Syria. The JCPOA did neither addressed the appalling human rights situation in Iran.

Iran and violation of agreement

A conditional approval was published by the Supreme Leader Khamenei with regard to Tehran agreeing to the JCPOA. The document contained several conditions.

One of the conditions was about new sanctions after signing of the agreement, it said that “Any sanctions against Iran at every level and on any pretext, including terrorism and human rights violations, by any one of the countries participating in the negotiations will constitute a violation of the JCPOA, and a reason for Iran to stop executing the agreement.”

Considering that US has imposed several sanctions on Iran after the deal, one must ask the following question, why has Iran not stopped executing the agreement?

The Iranian regime is besieged by extensive social discontent. Over 10 millions are unemployed and many ordinary Iranians are forced to live a life below poverty-line.

Not a foreign enemy

Indeed, Iranian authorities confess that the greatest threat to theocracy is not a foreign enemy, like the US, but popular protests and anti-regime demonstrations, especially by the disenfranchised poor people and youth, breaking the current status quo.

The reality is that the regime has always been at war with the young generation over individual liberties and social freedoms, which challenged the foundation of the regime’s theocracy. That is why Iran’s answer to new US sanctions has been merely rhetoric.

Due to the theocracy’s weak position in the society and its faltering economy, if Tehran abandons the nuclear agreement, all sanctions will be re-imposed. That will led to an economic and political collapse of the ruling theocracy.

Consequently, if president Trump orders to renegotiate the JCPOA, or impose new effective sanctions such as designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Iran is not able to play its enrichment card.

These were the reasons sanctions forced the Iranian regime to come back to the negotiation table, and it will do it again.

THOSE WHO MASSACRED PMOI MEMBERS SHOULD BE REWARDED, SENIOR IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS

Ahmad Khatami, a board member of the Iranian regime’s Assembly of Experts, used the Tehran Friday prayers sermon to express his anger over the ever-increasing scope of the justice movement related to the 1988 massacre. He called for the perpetrators of the atrocity of executing over 30,000 political prisoners to be awarded medals.“Then we see some people who on their websites switch the place of martyrs and murderers.

It was a divine move by [Iranian regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini] to force the [PMOI (People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran)] out of the country. All those who acted based on these orders should be rewarded with medals… however, those who on their websites have switched the place of martyrs and murderers should repent and beg for forgiveness,” he said.

This senior Iranian official, involved in many of the regime’s crimes, continues to be infuriated over the July 1 Iranian opposition rally held in Paris. He made ridiculous remarks against the former Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, blaming the 1953 coup d'etat on him for not thanking the mullahs for their support, and for instead feuding with mullah Abolghasem Kashani, a figure hated by the Iranian people for his relations with 1953 coup perpetrators.

Mullah Abbasian, another Friday prayers imam, made similar remarks in this regard:

“During the election season we witnessed how a number of people sought to change the PMOI’s image and criticized those who stood against the PMOI (MEK)… Hat’s off to the judge who executed PMOI members,” he said.

A few days ago, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, sought by Swiss, German and Argentine prosecutors through international subpoenas, also expressed his concerns over the justice movement.
“Regarding the PMOI (MEK) and all other groups who are mohareb [at war with God]… [Khomeini] ordered it… the ruling for all of them is execution… [Khomeini] constantly emphasized to beware they don’t slip out of your hands… [Khomeini] would always say be careful in this regard… before and after the 1988 issue. If a judge didn't sentence them to death, he would have acted incorrectly,” he said.

“I want to discuss my first analysis, and that is the [PMOI] rally in France… the sheer fact that they are permitted to hold a rally there is practical support for terrorism…,” he said at Tehran’s Friday prayers.

Former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, a leading official involved in the 1990s chain murders in Iran, referred further to the scope of the 1988 massacre of MEK members.

“This was [Khomeini’s] orders… these people should always be executed, before and after the 1988 case. [Khomeini] would constantly say be careful they don’t slip out of your hands. He would say we should act based on our religious duties and don’t wait for history to judge us,” he said. Fallahian also acknowledged that many people were arrested in the early years after the 1979 revolution simply for selling newspapers, or procuring food and other necessities for the PMOI.

These horrific remarks are only a tip of the iceberg of an intense chorus launched by the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to justify the 1988 massacre, especially after his failure in engineering the recent presidential election and attempting to have his favored candidate, mullah Ebrahim Raisi, known for his direct role in the 1988 massacre, replace the incumbent Hassan Rouhani.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

واشنطن بوست: أزمة قادمة بين إيران وأمريكا

والإثنين 17 يوليو/تموز الجاري، رفض الكونغرس الأميركي إلغاء برنامج أوباما كير الذي وضعه الرئيس الأميركي السابق؛ ما اعتُبر ضربة جديدة لترامب، وكتب الرئيس الأميركي بعدها على تويتر: 'لقد خذلني الجميع'.
وقال الكاتب الأميركي: وافق ترامب مكرَهاً على الخطوة لكن مع تحفظات كبيرة، ودعا في الوقت ذاته إلى فرض المزيد من العقوبات على إيران. كتبت زميلتي كارين دي يونغ في صحيفة الواشنطن بوست: لقد أوضح كبار مسؤولي الإدارة أن قرار التصديق جاء على مضض، وقالوا إن الرئيس ترامب ينوي فرض عقوبات جديدة على إيران على (أنشطتها الشريرة) المستمرة في المجالات غير النووية، كتطوير الصواريخ الباليستية ودعم الإرهاب'.
وبحسب ثارور، فإن ترامب غضب في حنق عندما اضطر إلى الموافقة على تصديق ثانيةً على حسن تعاون والتزام إيران، الذي أكدته مؤسسات رقابية دولية وأطراف أخرى موقعة على الاتفاق. 
وترى دولٌ رئيسية حليفة للولايات المتحدة، منها بريطانيا وفرنسا وألمانيا، أن في الاتفاق إلجاماً كفؤاً يكبح طموحات إيران النووية المفترضة. لكن هذه الدول لا تربط بين تنفيذ الاتفاق والمخاوف من التصرفات الإيرانية الأخرى المقلقة التي تشمل دعم مجموعات مسلحة متنوعة في الشرق الأوسط واحتجازها مواطنين أجانب دون وجه حق.
إذاً، تبقى إيران مصدر القلق الجيوسياسي رقم واحد في عين الرئيس ترامب. فترامب الذي يبدو عاقد العزم على هدم إرث الرئيس السابق باراك أوباما، كثيراً ما وصف الاتفاق بأنه اتفاقية استسلام للجمهورية الإسلامية. ولعل الحدث الوحيد الذي ظل في الذاكرة من الفترة الوجيزة التي بقيها مايكل فلين في منصبه مستشاراً للأمن القومي كان تصريحه الغامض الذي 'أنذر إيران رسمياً.' وعندما زار ترامب المملكة العربية السعودية في أولى زياراته خارج البلاد، وافق على الدخول في فلك رؤية الرياض للشرق الأوسط، رؤية تقوم في أساسها أولاً وقبل كل شيء على عداوة وكراهية إيران، كما يقول الصحفي الأميركي.
لن يصدّق على الاتفاق إلى ما لا نهاية
وبحسب الصحفي بيتر بيكر من صحيفة نيويورك تايمز، فإن 'ترامب أخبر فريقه الأمني بأنه لن يستمر في التصديق على التزام إيران إلى ما لا نهاية' مضيفاً أنه اشتكى طيلة لقاء دام ساعة كاملة الأسبوع الماضي من اضطراره إلى التصديق هذه المرة، فما كان أمام كبار مستشاريه –كمستشار الأمن القومي ماكماستر ووزير الخارجية ريكس تيلرسون ووزير الدفاع جيمس ماتيس- إلا إقناعه بضرورة العمل بالاتفاقية رغم أن أياً من هؤلاء لا يكنّ تعاطفاً مع إيران.

https://www.mojahedin.org/newsar/81763/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7

اخبر وزير الخارجية ، الجبير، إن الدول المقاطعة تريد من قطر وقف دعم الإرهابيين وإيوائهم والتحريض. 
وعن إيران اخبر الجبير إن طهران 'تواصل محاولات التدخل في الشؤون الداخلية لدول الجوار. ناقشنا أنشطة إيران في المنطقة، وهي مستمرة بمسانده الإرهابيين'. 
بدوره، اخبر وزير الخارجية البلجيكي، إن بلاده تعمل مع الـسعـودية على مكافحة التطرف والإرهاب.

عدد خاص في 20 صفحة لصحيفة واشنطن تايمز بشأن المؤتمر السنوي العام للمقاومة في باريس

واشنطن تايمز

20/7/2017

خصصت صحيفة واشنطن تايمز في عددها الصادر يوم الثلاثاء 18 يوليو، 20 صفحة حول المؤتمر السنوي العام للمقاومة الايرانية في باريس.
هذا العدد الخاص الذي جاء في عنوانه في الصفحة الأولى للصحيفة «مع المقاومة الايرانية.. الى الأمام» يشمل لقطات من كلمة رئيسة الجمهورية المنتخبة من قبل المقاومة وكلمات الشخصيات الدولية في مؤتمر باريس ورسائل أعضاء الكونغرس الأمريكي الى المؤتمر.

تقرير خاص: مع المقاومة الايرانية.. الى الأمام
مع المقاومة الايرانية .. الى الأمام
التغيير في متناول اليد
المعارضون الايرانيون يلتقون في فرنسا لاسقاط النظام الاستبدادي الديني في ايران
اجتمع مناصرو الحركة المعارضة الايرانية يوم السبت لاسقاط النظام الاستبدادي الديني الحاكم في طهران. وتكلم في هذا المهرجان عدد من حلفاء ادارة ترامب بينهم نيوت غينغريتش ورودي جولياني وكذلك الأمير تركي الفيصل.

العمدة رودي جولياني- القاء كلمة في المؤتمر السنوي العام للمقاومة الايرانية

«أكثر من أي شيء آخر اني سعيد من الحضور هنا ، وأنا يمكنني أن أقول هذا مع قدر كبير من الصلاحية، إن ادارة الولايات المتحدة تدعمكم، نحن نساندكم، ونحن نتفق مع قيمكم ...وأستطيع أن أقف هنا وأقول لكم: اني وحكومتي وقيادتكم ننظر الى ايران من منظار واحد. هذا النظام هو نظام شيطاني ويجب أن يرحل.. ايران حرة».

نيوت غينغريتش مرشح الرئاسة الأمريكية والرئيس السابق لمجلس النواب الأمريكي: يجب أن تستعد الولايات المتحدة لـ «اعطاء المساعدة لانتصار الحرية» في ايران.

الأمير تركي الفيصل: « إن مسعاكم لمواجهة هذا النظام مشروع ».

الأمير تركي الفيصل: القاء كلمة في المؤتمر السنوي العام للمقاومة الايرانية

إد رندل، الرئيس السابق للحزب الديمقراطي الأميركي وحاكم ولاية بنسلفانيا: «التاريخ تثبت أن الحرية تستحق الشجاعة والتضحية».

النائب تدبو: «الشباب الايرانيون هم يمتلكون بيدهم مفتاح الحرية». 

أعضاء مجلس النواب الأمريكي تدبو وروبرت بيتينجر وتوم غريت يقدمون لوحا تذكاريا لمجلس النواب الى السيدة رجوي

النائب روبرت بيتينجر: الشعب الأمريكي يدعم الايرانيين عشاق الحرية
النائب توم غريت: لقد ولى «العهد الموجود»
من صميم قلبي أتمنى أن ألتقي بكم فردا فردا في طهران العام المقبل
السيناتور جوزف ليبرمن مرشح نيابة الرئاسة الأمريكية في الانتخابات عام 2000: «لا يمكن أبدا تكبيل شعب الى الأبد».
مايكل موكيسي وزير العدل الأمريكي السابق: «صراع العالم مع الملالي الحاكمين في ايران وليس مع الشعب الايراني».
توم ريدج أول وزير الأمن الداخلي الأمريكي: «هناك حركة واحدة تستعد لقيادة ”الربيع الايراني“».
ليندا تشاوز المدير السابق للعلاقات العامة للبيت الأبيض: «ان صمودكم يعطينا الأمل».
السيناتور روبرت توريسلي: «اسم رجوي يرادف الآن الحرية والأمل».
لويس فري المدير السابق لمكتب التحقيقات الفدرالية: «هؤلاء الأفراد هم أبطال حقا».
عندما غادرنا آلبانيا بعد اللقاء بالأشرفيين، قال لي ابني: «يا أبي، هؤلاء الأفراد هم أبطال حقا». انكم أبطال والأهم من الكل ان زعيمتكم مريم رجوي هي أكبر بطلة.
جون بولتون السفير الأمريكي السابق لدى الأمم المتحدة: «لماذا يجب أن تفشل مساعي النظام الايراني لايجاد ”هلال السلطة“». يجب أن تحدد نتيجة مراجعة سياسة الرئيس الأمريكي آن حكم خميني الذي بدأ في العام 1979 لن يرى النور في عامه الأربعين.

ايران حرة

من بين عشرات الآلاف من المشاركين في المؤتمر السنوي العام للايرانيين في الأول من يوليو، حضرت وفود من عدة دول بينها سوريا وقادة نساء من عدة دول مثل ألمانيا والاردن وايطاليا وبلجيكا وايرلندا وبولندا وفلسطين ورومانيا.

فيلبنت ، فرنسا (الأول من يوليو 2017): مريم رجوي رئيسة الجمهورية المنتخبة من قبل المجلس الوطني للمقاومة الايرانية مع عدد من المسؤولين السابقين والحاليين في المؤتمر السنوي العام لايران حرة

الى الأمام نحو ايران حرة
كلمة مريم رجوي في المؤتمر السنوي العام للمقاومة الايرانية في فيلبنت بباريس
ثلاث حقائق آساسي:
أولا: إسقاط النظام الديكتاتوري الديني الحاكم أمر ضروري
ثانيا: اسقاط النظام في متناول اليد وفي المنظور
ثالثا: هناك بديل ديمقراطي ومقاومة منظمة قادرة على إسقاط النظام الاستبدادي الديني في ايران من عرش الحكم
تغيير النظام هو الحل

أكبر خطر يهدد النظام هو الانتفاضات المتربّصة بالنظام في عمق المجتمع الايراني

قوة التغيير والبديل الديمقراطي
رافع راية السلام والحرية ورافع راية الدفاع عن الشعب السوري ورافع راية ايران غير نووية

الحل للخروج من أزمة المنطقة
لقد ولى عهد الملالي، حان وقت التقدم

الجنرال جورج كيسي القائد العام لقوات متعددة الجنسية في العراق 2004-2007: التغيير في ايران يجب أن يتحقق
الجنرال جاكين المعاون السابق للأركان المشتركة للقوة البرية الأمريكية: لا يمكن السماح للنظام الايراني بأن يهدد السلام العالمي
الجنرال جيمز كانوي القائد السابق للمارينز: هدفكم هو اسقاط الملالي
السير ديفيد ايمس عضو البرلمان البريطاني: ان مشروع مريم رجوي ذات 10 مواد يشكل أملا للعدالة
وفد القادة السياسيين البريطانيين يعلن عن دعمه لتغيير النظام الايراني. 
باندلي مايكو رئيس الوزراء الألباني السابق:

آلاف الأشخاص في تيرانا الذين كانوا يصفقون في المؤتمر، هم يتحدثون أكثر من كل شيء ويعبرون عن الحقيقة أكثر من أي متكلم.
فاتمير مديو زعيم الحزب الجمهوري الالباني عضو البرلمان: يجب السعي للتصويت من أجل ايران حرة الغد
جون بيرد وزير الخارجية الكندي السابق: القادة الحاليون للنظام الايراني ليسوا «معتدلين».
برنارد كوشنر وزير الخارجية الفرنسي السابق: تغيير النظام بمعنى نهاية التطرف الديني

دعم من الحزبين في الكونغرس الأمريكي لايران حرة

جوانب من رسائل فيديو لأعضاء الكونغرس الأمريكي
السيناتور روبرت مننديز
السناتور جون بوزمن
نانسي بلوسي زعيم الديمقراطيين في مجلس النواب
اد رويس رئيس لجنة الشؤون الخارجية في مجلس النواب «الشعب الايراني يستحق حياة أفضل»
اليون انجل رئيس الديمقراطيين في لجنة الشؤون الخارجية في مجلس النواب
شيلا جكسون لي من الحزب الديمقراطي
داينا روهرا باكر من الحزب الجمهوري
الدعوة الى العدالة من أجل ضحايا مجزرة العام 1988
استيف كوهن من الحزب الديمقراطي
توم مك كلينتاك من الحزب الجمهوري
بول غوسار من الحزب الجمهوري
جودي تشو من الحزب الديمقراطي

بيان الشخصيات الأمريكية البارزة لدعم ايران حرة
جوانب من بيان 29 يونيو 2017 حيث قدمه أعضاء الوفد الأمريكي في المؤتمر السنوي العام لايران حرة في الأول من يوليو 2017

ايران حرة
نحن مستقبل ايران

http://www.washingtontimes.com/specials/onwards-iranian-resistance/