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Mehr News, February 04 2021:… A doctor at Tirana’s Mother Teresa Hospital told the national news agency in Albania that a member of the anti-Iranian terror group of Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) had been admitted to the hospital after contacting the UK Virus Variant as the first case detected with the new more transmissible variant in the country. According to the report, the doctor had said the MKO terrorist’s condition was deteriorating. Albania detects 1st case of UK Virus Variant in MKO camps. UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp.
MEK Hinders Coronavirus Detection In Albania. Cultic behaviour and the spread of contagious diseases
UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Albania detects 1st case of UK Virus Variant in MKO camps
TEHRAN, Feb. 04 (MNA) – Albania, which hosts the anti-Iran MKO terrorist group, has reported the country’s first case of the UK Virus Variant in the camps of the terror group.
A doctor at Tirana’s Mother Teresa Hospital told the national news agency in Albania that a member of the anti-Iranian terror group of Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) had been admitted to the hospital after contacting the UK Virus Variant as the first case detected with the new more transmissible variant in the country.
According to the report, the doctor had said the MKO terrorist’s condition was deteriorating.
World Health Organization Asked To Intervene In MEK Camp In Albania
The doctor added that based on the tests carried out on the patient, he had been diagnosed with the UK Virus Variant.
As many as 20 aging members of the terrorist group have died of COVID-19 so far and are buried in the local Manez Cemetery in Durres, Albania. Their burials have sparked protests by local people in the area where the terror group camps are located. The Albanian citizens are outraged with the presence of the group in their neighborhood and their access to water and electricity free of charge.
So far, as many as 80,000 people across Albania have been infected with Covid 19 and 1,400 have died. The Durres region, which is home to the MKO terrorist group, is the second largest city in the country after Tirana which has has the biggest number of deaths due to the coronavirus. The increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in this Balkan country has reached a very worrying level.
Covid-19 In Camp-Ashraf Albania – More Families Write to UN for help
The MKO, which does not allow journalists and doctors to enter its very large base on the outskirts of Tirana, treats its infected members without caring about necessary health measures set by the World Health Organization and the Albanian health officials. This has raised concerns about the large mortality rate of the group’s members, most of whom are in their seventies.
With the arrival of the UK Virus Variant to this base, there could be a humanitarian catastrophe in Tirana that could endanger the health of hundreds of thousands of people in this region and neighboring areas.
MNA
News Code 169491
UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
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MEK cult in Albania poses public health risk
Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/covid-19-in-mek-camp-needs-urgent-intervention/
Covid-19 In MEK Camp – Needs Urgent Intervention
Survivors of MEK in Albania, December 17 2020:… We would like to inform you that we, a group of former members of the MEK Organization, are concerned about the situation of our former friends who are currently members of the MEK. During the outbreak of COVID-19, the organization keeps its members in a closed area, which makes the conditions more dangerous for the spread of this disease among people. Covid-19 In MEK Camp – Needs Urgent Intervention
Corona Crisis In MEK Camp In Albania
Covid-19 In MEK Camp – Needs Urgent Intervention
UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Honourable Director of Albania’s Immigration Office
We would like to inform you that we, a group of former members of the MEK Organization, are concerned about the situation of our former friends who are currently members of the MEK.
During the outbreak of COVID-19, the organization keeps its members in a closed area, which makes the conditions more dangerous for the spread of this disease among people.
You are aware that this organization has closed relations, a has all the characteristics of a mind control cult.
The people who live in this cult collective do not have access to the free world and medical centres. This raises our concerns about the health and wellbeing of the people living in the Manez camp.
In the current situation, with the threat of COVID-19, the lives of these people are in danger. Unfortunately, this organization does not care about the lives of these people.
Due to the dangerous conditions inside the camp and the irresponsible behaviour of the cult leaders towards the lives of the members, we issue this warning, and we call for the prompt intervention of the relevant authorities of your country and Albanian human rights organizations to take control in order to save the lives of these people.
Respectfully: A group of former MEK members
Hassan Heyrani
Abdolrahman Mohammadian
Ali Hajari
Reza Slami
Moosa Damroodi
Gholamali Mirzaei
Parviz Heydarzadeh
Reza Mezginejhad
Hassan Shahbaz
Malek Baitmshaal
Gholamreza Shekari
Ehsan Bidi
Bager Mohammadi
Copy to:
Honorable President of Albania
Prime Minister of Albania
Albanian Ministry of the Interior
Albanian Ministry of Health
RMSA Organization, Albania
United Nations Office, Geneva
Covid-19 In MEK Camp – Needs Urgent Intervention
UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
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Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/covid-infects-mek-camp-ashraf-3-weekly-digest/
COVID Infects MEK Camp Ashraf 3 – Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – Dec 11, 2020
Iran Interlink, December 11 2020:… From the start of the pandemic, the MEK have refused to allow local health officials into the camp to help; there are no licenced medical staff in the camp. It is unclear how the virus was introduced into the camp, but leading members have used their Laissez-passer documents to move around Albania without hindrance, crossing road blocks with impunity. This week two of the MEK’s Albanian lawyers failed to attend court in a libel case against Behzad Saffari, brought by journalist Gjergji Thanasi, saying they have contracted COVID-19. COVID Infects MEK Camp Ashraf 3 – Weekly Digest – Dec 11, 2020
When Iranians and Israelis Quarrel
COVID Infects MEK Camp Ashraf 3 – Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – Dec 11, 2020
++ The trial of Asadollah Assadi is underway in Brussels. The Austrian based Iranian diplomat was arrested in Germany and accused of passing a bomb to an Iranian couple who planned to attack an MEK rally in Paris in 2018. During the trial the MEK have tried their utmost to make themselves relevant. MEK representatives were not allowed inside the court room. Instead, they sent three high level, highly paid lawyers from France alongside Farzin Hashemi as Maryam Rajavi’s representative to stand outside court and give interviews etc. On the back of this the MEK placed paid articles in French and Belgian media. Maryam Rajavi, of course, is not allowed in the European Union. The MEK’s desperate efforts to make the trial about them has exposed their real role in the plot. The more they put themselves forward, the more it shows as a false flag operation. The sponsors of the plot did their job in 2018 to meddle in relations between Iran and Europe to prevent rapprochement. The MEK were paid at the time but are apparently now trying to get more out of this, even though their actions are against the interests of Israel. This is being done while the MEK were obviously involved in the assassination of Iran’s nuclear expert Dr Fakhrizadeh as the Farsi speaking part of the equation. This puts Albania in a difficult position as hosts to the MEK.
++ This week marks the Day of Students in Iran. This goes back to the time of the Shah when on the 16th Azar, the Shah’s troops killed three students during an anti-Shah, anti-imperialist demonstration. Today the MEK – famously anti-imperialist at that time – are still trying to celebrate the Day of Students and its anti-American martyrs, completely oblivious to the contradiction with their newly pro-American position. Commentators point out the irony. The MEK are now pro-American but can’t give up the past. They can’t let go of either position to the point that Maryam Rajavi presented the MEK’s book of anti-imperialist martyrs to Senator John McCain. It couldn’t get more ridiculous than this.
In English:
++ Reports reveal that ten MEK members have died of COVID-19 in Albania since the first week of November. This indicates an outbreak of the coronavirus in Camp Ashraf 3. In 2016, as they were given refuge on humanitarian grounds, the Albanian government gave assurances that the MEK would receive full medical care. Since then, the MEK leaders have imprisoned the members in the closed camp and do not allow Albanian authorities to enter. From the start of the pandemic, the MEK have refused to allow local health officials into the camp to help; there are no licenced medical staff in the camp. It is unclear how the virus was introduced into the camp, but leading members have used their Laissez-passer documents to move around Albania without hindrance, crossing road blocks with impunity. This week two of the MEK’s Albanian lawyers failed to attend court in a libel case against Behzad Saffari, brought by journalist Gjergji Thanasi, saying they have contracted COVID-19. This could be coincidental, but it has also been reported that the defendant Behzad Safari has also gone missing and has not been seen recently. Whether the virus could have been transmitted either way, from lawyers to the camp or the camp to the lawyers, it is clear from the number of deaths in Camp Ashraf 3 that there are many others suffering the illness.
COVID Infects MEK Camp
++ After being ousted from Iraq and now the EU, the MEK could hope that they are safe in Albania. However, as the presidency of the US shifts in the next weeks, questions are being asked as to what the new Biden administration’s foreign policy will be and how this might affect the MEK. In an interview with Jacobin Magazine, Daniel Benaim – senior fellow at American Progress, researcher for US policy in the Middle East and visiting lecturer at New York University – gave his analysis of the pivotal topics of Biden’s foreign policy. In regard to the JCPOA, Benaim said, “My friends and I are of the view that a reduction in US support for MEK could be absorbing to Tehran. Albanian officials in bilateral meetings have expressed their concerns over the group’s illegal activities in human, drug, and arms trafficking. The Settlement of MEK in Albania and the coast of Adriatic Sea, along the European border is not necessary for a long period of time, and the group’s relocation to Ethiopia or Red Sea coasts such as Eritrea should be considered.” This raised two opposing views among observers. One view says ‘good riddance’ from Europe and let Saudi Arabia and the UAE use them in the conflict with Yemen. The other view comes from the families of enslaved, disappeared MEK members who would be further out of reach and again put in danger of death in a conflict not of their choosing.
End
COVID Infects MEK Camp Ashraf 3 – Weekly Digest – Dec 11, 2020
UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
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Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/mek-problem-for-albania-not-iran/
MEK Problem For Albania Not Iran
Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton), The Iranian, October 20 2020:… From deep inside its rabbit hole in Albania the MEK has created yet another Alice in Wonderland style fairy tale about Iranian spies and agents coming to get them. In doing so, Maryam Rajavi reminds us exactly why the European Union expelled her and her lieutenants from Europe and sent her into exile in Albania. The MEK presence – a magnet for trouble – presents an unacceptable national security risk to any country. MEK Problem For Albania Not Iran.
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MEK Problem For Albania Not Iran
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MEK Troll Camp In Albania
From deep inside its rabbit hole in Albania the MEK has created yet another Alice in Wonderland style fairy tale about Iranian spies and agents coming to get them. In doing so, Maryam Rajavi reminds us exactly why the European Union expelled her and her lieutenants from Europe and sent her into exile in Albania. The MEK presence – a magnet for trouble – presents an unacceptable national security risk to any country. From bomb plots in Paris and Belgium, the assassination of their own man Mohammad Reza Kolahi in the Netherlands, mysterious assassinations of other MEK critics, a violent attack outside the European Parliament, and self-immolations, the MEK are implicated in many violent incidents on European territory. In 2018, their presence finally became untenable. Sadly, Albania, under the American heel, is now forced to host this dangerous group.
Albanian based MEK terrorists threat to security of EU Parliament says Ana Gomes MEP
And with this latest statement, Rajavi also reminds us of the damage the MEK has already caused to Albanian civic life and its institutions. It appears that many Albanian politicians, police and the security services have become enthralled by the MEK mind control methodology. Not only has MEK unduly influenced Albanian foreign policy against Iran, the cult has also exerted unaccountable influence over the country’s internal security, without doubt using American pressure as backing.
Here’s an example: In recent days, Albanian police arrested an Iranian man, Bijan Pooladrag, with links to the MEK. The MEK immediately issued a statement disowning him and labelled him “an agent of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)”. In fact, according to eyewitnesses Pooladrag was arrested straight after coming out of the MEK offices in Tirana where he had gone to get his salary. This is because, although still working for MEK, he refused to live inside their camp. In special circumstances and on a needs-must basis MEK allows members to live outside the compound on condition that they do not speak publicly about their experiences with MEK. The financial allowance they give is conditional on the subject continuing to work for MEK on computer messaging and trolling.
MEK Members Arrested In Albania
The arrest came about when Pooladrag’s landlady and her daughter became suspicious that he was using their phones and computers without their knowledge. The Prosecution case states that he is “suspected of committing the criminal offense of ‘Illegal interception of computer data’, ‘Interference in computer data’, ‘Misuse of equipment’ and ‘Interference in computer systems’ provided by Articles 293 / a, b, c, of the Criminal Code.” Pooladrag allegedly utilized unauthorised phones to open accounts on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram, which were used in Farsi language. This exactly matches with the MEK demand that members like Pooladrag who live outside the camp continue with social media work to get paid. It is also clear to those who know him that Pooladrag is not computer literate enough to set up his own networks and systems. These will have been done for him by MEK at some stage. Clearly, Pooladrag was engaged in clicking for Heshmat Alavi.
For the absence of doubt, Pooladrag is a hardcore MEK member. He was injured in the September 1st massacre in 2013 in Iraq (number 24 on this list) as one of the 100 special members tasked with holding Camp Ashraf, willing to die for their leader. Since arriving in Albania, although he lives outside the camp, Pooladrag has made no attempt to contact his family in Iran (number 34 on this list), a requirement of MEK membership. His sister is still searching for contact.
According to former MEK members who knew Pooladrag, he was warned several times by MEK about his behaviour outside the camp. He was told ‘you can’t go to the seaside and post ‘naked’ pictures of yourself and expect us not to do something’. It seems that MEK have involved SHISH to set him up for punishment. Ironically, the punishment for these alleged crimes in Albania is 7 years imprisonment. The same sentence with which the courts of Saddam Hussein threatened those who wanted to leave MEK – seven years in Abu Ghraib prison for entering Iraq illegally. Interesting how quickly and seamlessly the Albanian judicial system has taken over this role of punishing MEK’s enemies.
Anyone who thinks that the MEK’s words are not full of lies and misinformation is sadly naive. MEK is one of those strange entities that not only invent their own conspiracy theories but wholeheartedly believe in them too.
Evidence of MEK influence over police behaviour can also be found in the statement about Pooladrag. As though to deliberately confuse the issue, among its list of “MOIS agents” who live in Albania, MEK has included one Italian Iranian Daniel Kasraei who is well known as a MEK go between, deported back to Italy for ‘spying’. However, the others listed are genuine former members of MEK, who have since denounced the group for its human rights abuses. Their backgrounds are interesting of themselves. Take the case of Ehsan Bidi. The MEK claim he was deported earlier this year. In fact, Bidi was, at the behest of the MEK, subject to illegal detention for a year, illegal trafficking by Albanian police over the Greek border in August this year, followed by a hasty return to Tirana with an apology by the chief of police after lawyers intervened. He was happily living in Tirana with his friends until the MEK again issued a statement on October 14th that Bidi had been deported. Three days later, Albania’s police again placed Bidi in a detention centre “for a few days” and asked him to sign deportation papers. The MEK’s interference in the internal situation of Albania is becoming untenable.
Another former MEK member mentioned in the statement is Hassan Heyrani who, according to the MEK, ‘hangs out’ at a café in Tirana. In fact, Heyrani is manager of the Faranak Café. Like Ehsan Bidi, Heyrani represents the MEK’s worst nightmare: a former member who is successfully recovered and standing on their own feet, working and living a free life since escaping the cult.
Saddam’s Private Army In Albania
Since Ehsan Bidi was freed, another former member has been targeted by MEK for police intervention. Gholamreza Shekari, again arrested solely on claims made by the MEK of criminal activity, has been detained since September while investigations take place. MEK’s accusation of ‘people trafficking’ is corrected by Olsi Jazexhi – a well-known media personality and historian who has been following the MEK’s activities since their arrival in his country in 2016 – “Golam Shekari did not send the Iranian refugee to the borders of Albania. He sent him to a bus station”.
Elsewhere Jazexhi says Rajavi has “declared war on any Iranian that steps in Albania” and has had influence over the deportation of 80 Iranians from the country. Ironically, Rajavi has said nothing about the arrest of two Iranians at Rinas Airport two days previously, attempting to smuggle £30,000 in old £20 notes on a flight to Luton, UK. Anyone who knows anything about MEK knows, of course, that it is standard MEK activity to transfer large amounts of cash from place to place for money laundering purposes. We do not know for certain that they are linked to MEK, but there is no other reason the organisation has not spoken a word about them, while demonising any and every other Iranian who has set foot inside the country.
As usual, the MEK reveal much more about themselves and their current predicament in their public statements than they realise or intend. There is a sense of desperation to recent MEK outpourings. In the run up to the US Presidential election, and amidst the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, nobody is paying attention to them at all. Isolated and abandoned in a small country, Maryam Rajavi has tried to push the US to force the EU to allow her to go back to Paris or Brussels for even just a couple of hours to show she is still welcome there. This has been rejected. The EU contact simply advised, ‘take them to Washington’. Documents were put on the table showing cases of the MEK working for the Americans against the EU – the assassination of Kolahi in the Netherlands, the false flag Paris bomb threat and payments to the extreme right-wing VOX party in Spain.
Faced with this failure to re-enter Europe, Rajavi has resorted to using another layer of MEK loyalists – those posing as independent analysts – to keep her cult relevant. This explains the flurry of shock revelations promoted by MEK veterans Ali Safavi, Alireza Jafarzadeh and Sona Samsami in the USA. The use of Arab News to launch this campaign signals that not only is Rajavi desperate for attention but that the Saudis are very concerned about a Biden victory which would put a halt to the free rein enjoyed under Trump. The mercenary MEK are happy to jump on this bandwagon as a means to trumpet their presence in the anti-Iran regime change political arena.
This contrasts with actual MEK activity in Albania where it is clear they are resigned to remaining. Information from inside the camp reveals that a public relations department has been formed from the so-called Leadership Council which has been tasked with distributing goods to the local population around the camp. The Mayor of Durres is being ‘bought’ as the Mayor of Auvers sur Oise was ‘bought’ previously. Locals are being recruited as the MEK are gaining control over the Durres citizenry.
The Secrets Behind Auvers sur Oise – Documentary
However, in the last analysis it may be too late for the MEK to exert control over the external environment. From inside the camp, word is that the body of the camp is in chaos. Every day people are shouting and screaming and rebelling. They imprison someone and next day someone else kicks off. Dissent is getting out of hand. And the more this happens the more they are moving people into the centre of the camp so they won’t be heard or seen from the outside. Layers of surveillance and security are in place to prevent outbreaks of trouble.
Certainly, as bad as things for her in the outside world, Maryam Rajavi’s worst threat is coming from her disaffected membership. With nothing but punishments and crackdowns to offer and no political wins to boast of beyond self-publicity, it is hard to see how she can recover the morale of the members. And as a lot of political leaders are discovering now, once you lose the trust of your people to lead you, there is nowhere to hide and nowhere to go but down.
MEK Problem For Albania Not Iran
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Also read:
Iran Interlink, January 15 2021:… As the number of deaths in the MEK camp at Manez in Albania due to COVID-19 continues to rise, the MEK have appropriated a section of the local cemetery to bury their dead. This week, residents of the town protested that a piece of land which had already been designated for expansion of the cemetery… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Nejat Society, January 09 2020:… Mr. Mohammad Aq Atabai, whose brother Hamid Mohammad Aq Atabai is being held in the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) camp in Albania, has lodged a complaint against the Albanian government to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances under the UN Convention against the Protection of All Persons against Forced disappearance. While explaining his brother’s story, he… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Iran Interlink, January 09 2021:… Coronavirus has infected the whole of Camp Ashraf 3 – everyone has it. Instead of using quarantine to control the spread, Maryam Rajavi and a few of her inner circle quarantined themselves to keep safe. She and the few members who don’t have the virus are quarantined and have limited contact with a few safe… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Survivors of MEK in Albania, December 17 2020:… We would like to inform you that we, a group of former members of the MEK Organization, are concerned about the situation of our former friends who are currently members of the MEK. During the outbreak of COVID-19, the organization keeps its members in a closed area, which makes the conditions more… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Nejat Society, December 13 2020:… On behalf of the suffering families of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO, NCR, NLA), I would like to draw your attention to an emerging humanitarian catastrophe due to the spread of Covid-19 in the MEK’s closed and isolated Camp Ashraf 3 in Manez, Albania. The alarming news coming from inside… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Iran Interlink, December 11 2020:… From the start of the pandemic, the MEK have refused to allow local health officials into the camp to help; there are no licenced medical staff in the camp. It is unclear how the virus was introduced into the camp, but leading members have used their Laissez-passer documents to move around Albania without hindrance, crossing… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Nejat Society, September 19 2020:… Reliable reports from Mother Teresa Hospital, as well as the Tirana University Clinic and sources in the Ministry of Health in Albania, indicate that Massoud Nassiri, 63, a member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO, Rajavi Cult), a resident of the organization’s camp in Albania, was definitely infected and died with the Covid-19 virus… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Nejat Society, September 14 2020:… News received from Albania indicates that at least three Iranians were admitted to Mother Teresa Hospital in the Corona ward, who are certainly members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, MKO, Rajavi Cult). According to the latest information, at least one of them has died, and the doctors have been prevented from commenting on the… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Nejat Society, June 02 2020:… Alongside the 11000 signature petition, a number of families of the members trapped in the MEK camp in Albania from Khuzestan province (southwest of Iran), have sent separate messages and letters to the Albanian Prime Minister, urging him to let them to have a visit or at least a phone call with their loved ones.… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Gjergji Thanasi, Balkans Post, May 10 2020 :… I love my country and I consider the MEK a security threat to my country,” investigative journalist Gjergji Thanasi tells the Balkans Post in an exclusive interview. I have chosen to do my bit for my country regarding the MEK threat to Albania and Albanians,” said Gjergji, who lives in Durres county… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Iran Interlink, April 25 2020:… covid-19 MEK Albania . In Albania MEK has ceased all financial support for some of its former members. MEK used to give small payments to some of those who abandoned the cult on condition they do not speak about their experiences in the cult and/or to perform certain activities, such as spying on other former… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
Massoud Khodabandeh, Responsible Statecraft (First Published April 25 2020) :… The Albanian authorities, including the security services, do not have access to the camp. According to investigative journalist Gjergji Thanasi, who lives in Durres county near the MEK camp, the Health Ministry “deals with Camp Ashraf 3 as if it does not exist. There is not a single line in… UK Variant COVID-19 In Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) Camp
