London, 1 Sep – Dr. Masumeh Bolurchi’s story was told on ncr-iran.org. It was about the day, two years ago, that her world changed forever. She received a phone call from a member of the Resistance telling her that her son had been executed by Iranian-sponsored militias.
She learned that her son, her only son, was executed – handcuffed and shot in the head. Rahman was a “young and aspiring member of the Resistance working in a refugee camp in Iraq”. He was a courageous and loyal activist that selflessly devoted his time to striving for democracy in Iran.
Masumeh, struggling to breathe, head spinning, bravely managed to stop herself from breaking down and consoled the heartbroken lady who bore her the terrible news on the phone.
She knew that the news of her son’s death would pain many others too, but reminded herself of the many other mothers who are suffering the same agony. Somehow, through the immense pain she was feeling, she convinced herself to not break down. She said that if she broke down, the mullahs will have won. She saw it as her duty, like that of her son, to “echo the voice of the oppressed and rally the international community to come to the defense of the victims of the Iranian regime’s brutal daily atrocities”.
She made it her mission to regain her strength and immediately campaign to save the others members of the Iranian opposition PMOI (or MEK) that were in the same refugee camp, Camp Ashraf, as her son in Iraq. She contacted the German Foreign Ministry where Rahman had been given refugee status, as well as international media outlets and human rights groups such as Amnesty International.
Less than six hours later, Iranian people across the globe participated in an ad-hoc campaign to pressure the United Nations and United States into stopping the onslaught of the Iranian regime in Camp Ashraf by Iraqi mercenaries.
All members of the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf were recognized by the US as ‘protected persons’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Each of them had received a ‘protected persons’ card. The UN vowed to protect the camp residents from attack. Yet neither the US nor the UN reacted on the day of the attack.
The Iranian regime, in great fear of the Resistance group PMOI/MEK, urged the then-Prime Minister of Iraq to carry out the attack. Some 52 of the 101 residents were killed and seven others were kidnapped. And to this day, no one has been held accountable.
Masumeh vows to continue the fight for freedom in Iran in memory of her son. She says she gets her fighting spirit from the NCRI’s President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, and her “inspirational messages”.
Mrs. Rajavi has roused huge international support for the Resistance through “tireless” international campaigning. Her 10-point plan for Iran “recognizes political legitimacy through universal suffrage, guarantees rights for all citizens and particularly women and minorities, ends the cruel excesses of the judiciary and establishes the rule of law. It would also end the nightmare of fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship by separating church and state, protect property rights, promote equal opportunity and environmental protections, and seek a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction”.
“Everyone who believes in human rights and human values should support the Iranian people to achieve democracy and freedom. This is our duty as human beings.”
Dr. Masumeh Bolurchi is the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Germany.
