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Iranian protesters urge Albania to close down camp hosting MKO terrorists

Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) take part in a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, on June 30, 2023. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

Dozens of Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) have called upon Albanian authorities to shut down a camp that hosts anti-Iran elements and make preparation for the repatriation of their family members.

Demonstrators and members of the independent civil society organization Nejat Society converged outside the Turkish embassy in downtown Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, and appreciated the latest raids by Albanian police forces on the Ashraf-3 camp in the northwest of the capital Tirana.

Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) take part in a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, on June 30, 2023, to demand the repatriation of their loved ones and trial of the notorious ringleaders of the cult. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

They underlined that the camp serves as a place, where malicious plots and cyber attacks are being orchestrated, and various forms of money laundering and human rights abuse are being carried out.

The protesters released a communiqué during the gathering, asking Albanian authorities to shut down the camp and put the notorious ringleaders of the MKO terrorist cult on trial.

The relatives of MKO members also urged the Albanian government not to allow leaders of the cult to use their loved ones as human shields against security forces.

They also asked Albanian officials not to fall into the psychological warfare trap of the MKO and let the terrorists abuse them, as the cult is enormously hated by the entire Iranian nation and even opponents of the Islamic establishment.

Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) take part in a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, on June 30, 2023, to demand the repatriation of their loved ones and trial of the notorious ringleaders of the cult. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

“After seven years of supporting the MKO, the Albanian government came to realize that its national security is more significant than anything else,” Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the head of Nejat Society, said at the gathering.

He stated that families of MKO members are calling on Albanian officials to let them visit the Southeastern European country and meet with their loved ones, and to secure their release from the camp.

Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) take part in a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, on June 30, 2023, to demand the repatriation of their loved ones and trial of the notorious ringleaders of the cult. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

Albanian police forces raided the Ashraf-3 camp on Thursday morning, more than a week after they stormed the same place over indications of cyber attacks against foreign institutions being orchestrated there.

According to Albanian Daily News, security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp accommodating MKO members, and controlled all vehicles leaving the site.

On June 20, Albanian authorities raided the camp to seize 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities.

Albanian Interior Minister Bledi Cuci and the head of the national police, Muhamet Rrumbullaku, said both police officers and MKO terrorists were injured during the raid.

Reports suggest that the MKO member killed in the raid was a high-profile commander of the terrorist group named Abdolvahhab Faraji. He was said to be an expert in military engineering operations, and was apparently in charge of technical and engineering activities during an anti-Iran operation by MKO terrorists in July 1988.

Sources have reported that a number of other MKO terrorists are in critical condition after the raid.

MKO members spent many years in Iraq, where they were hosted and armed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They sided with Saddam during the 1980-88 war against Iran and then helped him quell uprisings in various parts of the Arab country.

Albania started hosting the terrorists after the group was shunned by the government of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The European country is estimated to have been accommodating some 3,000 members of the terror cult since 2016.

The European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a "terrorist organization".

In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations. 

The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials over the past decades, killing nearly 17,000 Iranians.

The group throws lavish conferences every year in Paris, with certain American and other Western officials in attendance as guests of honor.


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