Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Albania, October 19, 2021—Thousands of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), gathered for a memorial in Ashraf 3, Albania, on Sunday to pay homage to Sir David Amess, British MP and great friend of the Iranian people, who was murdered last week while he was holding a meeting with his constituency in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
Participants in the ceremony paid homage to Sir David, who was a staunch supporter of the cause of freedom in Iran for more than three decades.
Speaking at the ceremony was Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), offered condolences to Sir David’s family, his wife Julia, to the members of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, to his friends, colleagues and to the people of Britain.
Profoundly saddened, I offer my deep condolences on the passing of Sir #DavidAmess, due to a criminal stabbing. He was an honorable friend of the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance in their quest for freedom and democracy. pic.twitter.com/DhehNjk2iG
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 15, 2021
“We have not gathered here to simply mourn Sir David’s demise,” Mrs. Rajavi said. “We are also here to celebrate his life and achievements. I firmly believe that he has now joined all those who gave their lives for human rights, democracy, and justice for which he was a tireless champion.”
Mrs. Rajavi described Sir David as “the enemy of dictatorships, especially mullah’s dictatorship” and stressed that after three decades of support for the Iranian Resistance, he is now among the martyrs of freedom.
“Much can be said about Sir David’s character, his kindness, compassion, big heart, moral integrity/ principles, and values.” Mrs. Rajavi said. “In victory or defeat, in good times and bad, he would always smile and tell everyone around him to persevere. Our Resistance movement owes a huge debt of gratitude to Sir David.”
Across the world, members and supporters of the Iranian Resistance are commemorating Sir David. On Monday, supporters of the Iranian Resistance paid tribute to Sir David in Stockholm, Sweden, where they had gathered in front of the court where Hamid Noury, a torturer of political dissidents in Iran’s prisons, is being tried for crimes against humanity.
Sir David played a pivotal role in many of the achievements of the Iranian Resistance. In 2007, he joined 34 of his parliamentary colleagues in the successful legal challenge to the politically motivated proscription of the MEK, done by the UK government to please the Iranian regime. He also fought relentlessly to ensure the safety and security of MEK members in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. And he was a key contributor in the safe relocation of MEK members from Iraq to Albania and other European countries.
Sir David was the co-chair of the British Committee for Iran Freedom (BCFIF) and a frequent speaker at the rallies of the Iranian Resistance.
In his final speech to the 2021 Free Iran Gathering, Sir David Amess said, “We believe the missing piece in our policy is disregarding the objective conditions in Iran, and the yearning of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy.”
On the eve of his murder, Sir David wrote an article in Townhall highlighting the involvement of the Iranian regime’s President Ebrahim Raisi in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran and supporting the call by the Anglo-Iranian community to arrest him if attended the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November.
“One of the proudest things I have ever done in my political career is to support the National Council of Resistance of Iran which calls for the Iranian regime to be replaced with a safer and more democratic government,” Sir David declared on 6th September 2021.
