ALBANIA The mujahideen against Tirana (and the US): have handed over ‘sensitive data’ to Tehran

In a June 20 raid, Albanian police seized hundreds of computers and hard drives. Part of the material, which contained information on movements fighting abroad against the theocratic regime, would have ended up in the hands of Tehran. Record of executions in the Islamic Republic: 354 people in the first six months of the year.

Tehran () – The dissidence, or the Iranian “resistance” in exile trembles, fearing that highly confidential information and sensitive data relating to people who, from abroad, try to oppose the government of the Islamic Republic have ended up in the hands of of the regime of the ayatollahs. The possibility is not at all remote after the fierce confrontations with the police in Tirana carried out by the militant and opposition groups that long ago chose Albania as their base. In these hours, in fact, senior Iranian officials claim to have received part of the hard drives confiscated from opponents by Albanian agents in the raids after the clashes: if that were the case, says a source for , the nuclei of the Resistance, the MEK supporters and their families in Iran “would be in grave danger of being arrested, tortured and executed.”

On June 20, one person was killed and hundreds injured during the raids by the Albanian police in the Ashraf-3 refugee camp, in the northwestern suburbs of the capital, where thousands of mujahideen have lived for more than a decade. of the Iranian people (MEK) and their families. The agents allegedly used pepper spray and confiscated hundreds of computers containing valuable information on the contacts and operations of the dissident political movement, one of the most active in the fight from abroad against the theocracy that has ruled the country since the 1979 revolution.

In a statement from the secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the leaders ask the governments of Tirana and the United States for clarity, fearing that the computers and memories seized from the MEK have ended up in the hands of Tehran. The content of the note is related to the announcement made on July 3 by Sepehr Khalaji, head of the Government Information Council, disseminated by the Fars agency, close to the Pasdaran, according to which Tehran has received “part of the hard drives and of computers. These would contain valuable “information” that would make it possible to “identify” resistance figures, with results that are considered “promising.” In the past 10 days, Iranian media and officials have spread rumors about alleged contacts between “the security apparatus [del régimen] and countries like Albania”. For this reason, the leaders of the MEK have requested “clarifications” from the Albanian and US authorities, so that they “refute” the news and ensure “total transparency” on the matter.

“If the serious news about the collaboration with religious fascism in Iran against the MEK and the delivery of part of the 213 seized computers and hard drives” were “true”, the statement continues, it would be “a humanitarian catastrophe” and a ” violation of human rights”. “The responsibility – he continues – falls on the governments” of Washington and Tirana. “Sharing any information about the MEK with the criminal Iranian regime, which has been convicted 69 times for human rights violations by the UN General Assembly and other international bodies, is a red line that must be followed by international courts.”

Most worrying are the “compliments” from the official Iranian news agency Mehr directed at the Albanian police for their action against the MEK, and even the latter received congratulations from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). Finally, according to the online newspaper Hamshahri, which includes the words of Brigadier General Esmaeil Kowsari, there has been “for several months” intense “communication between the security apparatuses of Iran and countries like Albania, with very positive results”. Which perfectly justifies the concern of resistance groups inside and outside Iran.

On the domestic front, on the other hand, the ayatollahs continue with serial hangings, as figures provided by Iran Human Rights (IHR) show. In the first half of 2023, 354 people have already been executed, an escalation that far exceeds the figures of previous years. In 2022 the executioner had been “limited” to 582 executions, of which 261 were carried out in the first six months (representing an increase of 36% for the current year). Among those executed in 2023, at least 206 were convicted of drug crimes (+126% compared to the previous year), although this motivation is also used to sentence dissidents and opponents to death. There is also a racial element to the executions: Tehran has disproportionately targeted non-Persian ethnic groups, especially the Baloch, who make up 20 percent.