Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 20, 2021—As the Persian year comes to a close, people across Iran are paying homage to the countless heroes who have laid their lives down to bring freedom and democracy in Iran.
In Tehran, Resistance Units, activists and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), commemorated the founders of the MEK by laying flowers on their graves in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
The founders of the MEK, Mohammad Hanif Nejad, Ali Asghar Badizadegan, and Saied Mohsen, were executed by the Shah regime in 1972 after undergoing severe torture in the prisons of the SAVAK, the Shah regime’s intelligence arm. The Shah regime gave them the choice to reduce their sentence from death to life in prison if they denounced their struggle for freedom. All three refused to bend to the Shah regime’s will. Their sacrifice has set an example for generations of MEK members and supporters, who continue their path and struggle to this day.
Also in Tehran, Resistance Units laid flowers on the grave of Dr. Mohammad Maleki, who passed away December 2, 2020. Dr. Maleki was a prominent Iranian academic and the first chancellor of Tehran University after the 1979 anti-monarchical revolution. Dr. Maleki was very popular among Iranians for his pro-democracy activities and protesting the tyranny of the clerical regime ruling Iran. He was a vocal supporter of the MEK and had been arrested by security forces on several accounts for his criticism of the regime.
Across the country, the Resistance Units commemorated MEK martyrs in different locations. In Tehran, the Resistance Units placed flowers on an unmarked mass grave where several MEK martyrs had been buried by the regime. During the 1980s, the regime executed thousands of MEK members and secretly buried them in undisclosed locations to cover up its crimes. The most egregious example of these heinous acts was the 1988 massacre, in which the regime executed more than 30,000 political prisoners and buried their bodies in mass graves. Many families still search for the burial places of their loved ones after more than three decades.
In Hamedan, Bushehr, Tehran, and Shiraz, the Resistance Units celebrated the memory of MEK martyrs by laying flowers on their graves.
Commemoration of the martyrs of Iran’s nationwide uprising
On the occasion of the Persian New Year, people are celebrating the memory of numerous civilians killed by the regime during nationwide protests. In a video message, the mother of Mehrdad Moein-far, killed by the regime’s security forces during the 2019 protests, said, “I am the mother of Mehrdad Moein-far. I wish a happy New Year to all my compatriots. I ask the people to not stand by and watch the injustice and tyranny, just as Mehrdad decided not to. I wish peace and happiness for all the people of my land.”
In Behbehan, the friends and family of Farzad Ansari, killed by security forces in the 2019 protests, gathered at his grave and honored his memory.
In Karaj, the friends and family of Milad Mohagheghi, another martyr of the 2019 protests, gathered at his grave and paid homage by laying flowers and Nowruz decorations on his grave.
