Albanian State Police alongside RENEA forces conducted controls in the Mujahedin camp in Manëz, Durrës, where activists of the Iranian opposition are situated.
According to a State Police statement, they exercised controls in all premises and offices where the Mujahedin reside, pursuant to a ruling of the Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime.
According to Euronews Albania sources, the controls were carried out as early as 03:00 AM and were ongoing until around noon time this Tuesday, while there are reports of the State Police officers using neutralizing means during the operation.
As a result of the tensions between parties, Mujahedin claim that there has been a victim, while 36 other people were injured.
State Police told Euronews Albania that officers did not use any deathly means and the claimed victim is not necessarily related to the police operation carried out this Tuesday.
Reacting to the incident, the Ministry of Interior stated that the operation of the State Police at the MEK residence in Manëz, Durrës, was in full compliance with the order of the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) and the decision of the Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime.
“The Court’s decision is a consequence of actions that openly violate the agreement and commitments made by the MEK group since 2014 when they were settled in Albania solely for humanitarian purposes. Unfortunately, this group did not adhere to these commitments and violated the agreement. The intervention of the State Police has been in accordance with the law and in the correct implementation of the procedures required for such operations. The actions of the State Police to enforce the law have been carried out as in any other part of the territory of the Republic of Albania,” the statement says.
The Ministry of Interior denies there has been a victim during the operation.
“Unfortunately, there was resistance within the camp against the work of the State Police, which goes against the procedural framework of law enforcement. Based on the data provided by the State Police, there have been no fatalities or injuries during the operation. All procedural verifications are being carried out for any claims of fatalities at their residence hospital.”
Sources say that detailed checks were carried out on electronic devices such as computers, phones, drones, etc, with the controls done in the frameworks of the fight against terrorism and prevention of cyberattacks. The situation, however, escalated as residents of the camp reportedly resisted handing in their devices to be controlled.
The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran released a statement following the incidents, demanding the European Union condemn the “attack that violates human rights and freedoms”.
“Upon the request of the religious fascism ruling Iran, this morning, on June 20, around 1,000 Albanian police officers attacked Ashraf in a criminal and oppressive act. Many doors, cabinets, belongings were broken, and residents were attacked with tear gas and pepper spray. Many computers were destroyed.
Following this criminal attack, Ali Mousashari was martyred, and more than 100 individuals were injured by the burning gas, some of whom were sent to Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana.
The behavior of the Albanian Police resembles the criminal attacks of the Maliki government against Ashraf in Iraq between 2009 and 2015.
The Iranian resistance calls on the American government and the United Nations, which have repeatedly guaranteed the safety of Ashraf residents, to condemn this criminal and barbaric behavior and provide the necessary guarantees to prevent these illegal acts that violate numerous international treaties, including the Refugee Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Union, where Albania is a candidate for membership, must condemn this barbaric attack and hold the Albanian government accountable for its actions,” the statement said.
The “Ashraf 3” camp was built in 2019 in Manëz, Durrës, by Iranian Mujahedin of MEK, an abbreviation for “Mojaheden e-Khalq” which means Mujahedin of the People, an Iranian militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and installation of its own government.
Since 2009, when the Iraqi government became openly hostile to MEK, the US led efforts to get the group out of Iraq. At the same time, the MEK paid Western political influencers to lobby for its removal from the list of designated terrorist organizations.
After it was no longer designated as a terrorist group, the US government was able to convince Albania to accept a remaining of 2,700 members who were brought to Tirana between 2014 and 2016.
A year ago, the World Summit of Free Iran, which was to be held on July 23 and 24 at “Ashraf 3” camp was cancelled, due to security reasons from terrorist threats.
Tensions between Albania and Iran, however escalated after a cyberattack back in July 2022, when governmental portal e-Albania, that provides various digital services such as school registration, applications for personal documents, property rights registration, and business data registration, was disrupted.
The attack also involved the leakage of sensitive data that had previously been obtained from state servers. The majority of this data was published on HomeLand Justice website and a corresponding Telegram group.
The Albanian government informed the public that it was a sophisticated and coordinated cyberattack from outside the country. Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly attributed the cyberattack to the Iranian government in early September. Subsequently, the two countries severed diplomatic relations.
Iranian diplomats left the embassy in Tirana on September 8th, and prior to their departure, they burned letters and documentation in the embassy premises.
The cyberattacks against the Government of Albania were deemed as politically motivated, with actors connected to the Iranian government behind them, as a result of an analysis conducted by the American company Microsoft on September 8th, which extensively examined the attack on the state servers in Albania.
