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Country Advice Iran Iran – IRN35739 – National Council of Resistance – Mojahedin-E-Khalk – University Admission 3 December 2009

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Country Advice Iran Iran – IRN35739 – National Council of Resistance – Mojahedin-E-Khalk – University Admission 3 December 2009 Country Advice Iran Iran – IRN35739 – National Council of Resistance – Mojahedin-e-Khalk – University admission 3 December 2009 1. Do you have brief background information on how the Book of Martyrs was produced? The Book of Martyrs appears to refer to a list entitled „20,000 PMOI Martyrs‟ available on the People‟s Mujahadin Organization of Iran (PMOI) website. 1 There is no explanation about the history or method of compilation for producing this list on the website, or elsewhere. 2. Please provide brief background on the National Council of Resistance. The National Council of Resistance (NCRI) was formed in1981, in Paris, as an off-shoot of the Iranian Mujahadin-e Khalq organization (MEK).2 The MEK, which advocates the violent overthrow of the Iranian government, attempted to topple the newly installed Islamic regime by launching a bombing campaign in Iran in 1981. This campaign included an attack against the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Prime Minister‟s office, which killed some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. These attacks resulted in a popular uprising against the MEK and an expanded Iranian government crackdown, which forced MEK leaders to flee to France. In Paris, the MEK formed what has been termed the political wing of the MEK under the name of the National Council of Resistance. The NCRI has a global support network with active lobbying and propaganda efforts in major Western capitals. NCRI also has a well-developed media communications strategy.3 The NCRI is led by Mrs. Mayram Rajavi, the wife of MEK founder Massoud Rajavi, who remains in hiding – possibly in Iraq. Mrs. Rajavi is an active leader, delivering numerous speeches and organising events and rallies in support of the organization, using offices located in several European capitals. Mrs. Rajavi is named to assume the position of temporary head 1 People‟s Mujahadin Organization of Iran (PMOI) website http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/index.aspx – Accessed 2 December 2009 2 Department of the Parliamentary Library, Research Note No. 43, 16 June 2003, Behind the Mujahideen-e- Khalq (MEK)- Accessed 2 December 2009 http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/RN/2002-03/03rn43.pdf – Attachment 1 3 See various sources: People‟s Mujahiddin of Iran (PMOI) or Mujahiddin e Khalq (MEK): An update Standard Note: SN/IA/05020 Last updated: 23 March 2009 Author: Stephen Jones Section International Affairs and Defence Section, Library House of Commons. http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snia- 05020.pdf – Accessed 2 December 2009 - Attachment 2, and UK Border Agency 2009, „Country of origin information report: Iran‟, UK Home Office website, 21 April http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/iran- 220409.doc - Accessed 23 April 2009 – Attachment 3. of a new secular government in Iran, should the NCRI and MEK succeed in overthrowing the current regime.4 3. Please provide brief information on the Simay-Azadi channel. The pro-National Council of Resistance Simay-Azadi channel is funded mainly though contributions from Iranians living in exile who support regime change in Iran. Fund-raising efforts to keep this channel operating are conducted from time to time through the website and assisted by appeals by the NCRI. Simay-Azadi claims that many supporters and viewers in Iran risk fines and prosecution by Iranian authorities by contributing funds and viewing their channel illegally utilizing satellite dishes. 5 A 2008 Freedom House report comments on the widespread use of illegal satellite dishes and highlights the steep penalties applicable if authorities wish to clamp down. Receiving content broadcast by dissident organizations is specifically banned: Satellite dishes are illegal, though generally tolerated. However, there have been increasing reports of satellite dish confiscation and steep fines. The authorities have had some success in jamming broadcasts by dissident overseas satellite stations, and cooperation with Persian-language satellite channels is banned. … Even the purchase of satellite images from abroad was deemed illegal.6 There is a contact address in the U.K. available on the website, but it is unclear where the channel is actually up-linked. The channel is available for viewing through numerous pay satellite television sites advertising on the Web, and several sites provide detailed information on frequency, signal, and satellite dish orientation used to receive the transmission.7 4. Could you provide background information on Mojahedin-e-Khalk, their objectives and modes of operation? The U.S. State Department Country Reports on Terrorism provides a succinct and informative overview of the MEK, as follows: The Mujahadin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) advocates the violent overthrow of the Iranian government. The MEK is known by various names and aliases, including; MKO; Mujahadin-e Khalq (Iranian government name for group); Muslim Iranian Students‟ Society; National Council of Resistance; NCR; Organization of the People‟s Holy Warriors of Iran; the National Liberation Army of Iran; NLA; People‟s Mujahadin Organization of Iran; PMOI; National Council of Resistance of Iran; NCRI; Sazeman-e Mujahadin-e Khalq-e Iran. The MEK emerged in the 1960s as one of the more violent political movements opposed to the Pahlavi dynasty and its close relationship with the United States. MEK ideology has gone 4 Fletcher, H. 2008, „Backgrounder Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) (aka People‟s Mujahedin of Iran or PMOI)‟ , Council on Foreign Relations, April 18 http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/%7C – Accessed 7 December 2009 – Attachment 4 5 Simay-Azadi Iran National TV website http//www.irantv.com/en/ – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 5 6 Freedom House 2008, „Freedom in the World 2008 – Iran‟, 2 July http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/487ca215c.html – Accessed 7 December 2009 – Attachment 6. 7 wwiTV.com, “Watch Live TV Channel: Iran NTV (Simay Azadi), broadcasting from Iran” http://wwitv.com/portal.htm?http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/6978.htm – Accessed 1 December 2009 – Attachment 7. through several iterations and blends elements of Marxism, Islam, and feminism. The group has planned and executed terrorist operations against the Iranian government for nearly three decades from its European and Iraqi bases of operations. Additionally, it has expanded its fundraising base, further developed its paramilitary skills, and aggressively worked to expand its European ranks. In addition to its terrorist credentials, the MEK has also displayed cult-like characteristics. In 1981, MEK leadership attempted to overthrow the newly installed Islamic regime; Iranian security forces subsequently initiated a crackdown on the group, reslting in MEK leaders fleeing to France. In Paris the MEK formed what has been termed the political wing of the MEK under the name of the National Council of Resistance. For five years, the MEK continued to wage its campaign from its Paris headquarters. Expelled by France in 1986, MEK leaders turned to Saddam Hussein‟s regime for basing, financial support, and training. Near the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Baghdad armed the MEK with heavy military equipment and deployed thousands of MEK fighters in suicidal, mass wave attacks against Iranian forces. The MEK‟s relationship with the former Iraqi regime continued through the 1990s. In 1991, the group reportedly assisted the Iraqi Republican Guard‟s bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds who rose up against Saddam Hussein‟s regime. In April 1992, the MEK conducted near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies and installations in 13 countries, demonstrating the group‟s ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. In April 1999, the MEK targeted key Iranian military officers and assassinated the deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Ali Sayyaad Shirazi. In April 2000, the MEK attempted to assassinate the commander of the Nasr Headquarters, Tehran‟s interagency board responsible for coordinating policies on Iraq. The pace of anti- Iranian operations increased during “Operation Great Bahman” in February 2000, when the group launched a dozen attacks against Iran. One attack included a mortar attack against a major Iranian leadership complex in Tehran that housed the offices of the Supreme Leader and the President. In 2000 and 2001, the MEK was involved in regular mortar attacks and hit-and- run raids against Iranian military and law enforcement personnel, as well as government buildings near the Iran-Iraq border. Following an initial Coalition bombardment of the MEK‟s facilities in Iraq at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, MEK leadership negotiated a cease- fire with Coalition Forces and voluntarily surrendered their heavy-arms to Coalition control. Since 2003, roughly 3,400 MEK members have been encamped at Ashraf in Iraq. In 2003, French authorities arrested 160 MEK members at operational bases they believed the MEK was using to coordinate financing and planning for terrorist attacks. Upon the arrest of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, MEK members took to Paris‟ streets and engaged in self- immolation. French authorities eventually released Rajavi. Although currently in hiding, Rajavi has made “motivational” appearances via video-satellite to MEK-sponsored conferences across the globe. Strength: Estimates place MEK‟s worldwide membership at between 5,000 and 10,000 members, with large pockets in Paris and other major European capitals. In Iraq, roughly 3,400 MEK members are gathered at Camp Ashraf, the MEK‟s main compound north of Baghdad. As a condition of the 2003 cease-fire agreement, the MEK relinquished more than 2,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy artillery. Between 2003–2006, a significant number of MEK personnel have voluntarily left Ashraf, and an additional several hundred individuals have renounced ties to the MEK and been voluntarily repatriated to Iran. Location/Area of Operation: The MEK maintains its main headquarters in Paris and has concentrations of members across Europe, in addition to the large concentration of MEK located at Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
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