Albanian police clash with Iranian dissidents
Albanian police raid turns violent when met with opposition from Iranian dissidents in Ashraf camp. (National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI))
Iran boasted in early July that it secured sensitive electronic data seized during a June raid on an Iranian opposition group in Albania, sparking outrage from the exiled Iranian Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) group.
Albanian authorities confiscated 150 computer devices from MEK opposition due to alleged prohibited political activities in the Balkan state.
According to a July 3 report in the regime-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Sepehr Khalaji, head of Iran’s information council, tweeted that "part of the hard drives and cases" from the raid on the MEK had arrived in Iran.
IRNA wrote in a paraphrased section of its article that was attributed to Khalaji, "Iranian experts were engaged in data recovery and identifying the terrorist group’s agents and sabotage cells." Khalaji said, "The results so far are promising."
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Iranian dissidents clash with Albanian police in a raid on the Ashraf-3 and Ashraf-4 camps on June 20, 2023, in pursuit of suspects tied to a cyberattack. (National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI))
Numerous Fox News Digital press queries to Iran’s government and its Permanent Mission to the United Nations were not returned. The NCRI published a statement, demanding answers from Albania and the U.S. on whether their electronic data was sent to Tehran.
Albania's embassy in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, "Albania does not have diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It broke off relations in the fall of 2022 following the cyberattack against Albania's digital infrastructure and public systems and does not have any communication or exchanges with the Iranian regime."
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The Albanian embassy continued, "So, no! Albania has not provided anything to the Iranian regime. All the equipment seized by the Albanian State Police during the search operation in the MEK camp, remains in the hands of the Special Prosecutor against Organized Crime and Corruption, the institution in charge of the investigation, and will be used for the purposes of the investigation."
The Albanian spokeperson added, "It must also be noted, that Albania is a NATO member, a candidate country for the EU, and a close strategic partner to the United States. Under no circumstances would Albania contemplate any such cooperation with the Iranian regime."
Members of the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) protest on June 20, 2023, after Albanian police raided a camp, home to members of an Iranian opposition movement. (Adnan Beci/AFP via Getty Images)
The NCRI wrote in its statement, "The United States and Albania should clarify whether the MEK's computers have been handed over to the Iranian regime…. This requires a clear position from this government, and we hope that the American and Albanian authorities firmly deny and provide complete transparency and details."
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Asked about the NCRI letter, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States had no role in any such thing and we have no reason to believe that these claims are true.
"As we have said, on June 20 the Albanian State Police entered the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) compound in Durres, Albania, to execute a court order. The United States was not involved with this operation. We support the Government of Albania’s right to investigate any potential illegal activities within its territory."
The spokesperson added, "We refer you to the Government of Albania for any further information."
Iranian dissidents are pepper sprayed during the Albanian raid on the Ashraf-3 and Ashraf-4 camps on June 20, 2023. (National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI))
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Fox News Digital has reviewed new European intelligence from the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany that revealed Iran’s regime continued to conduct surveillance on Iranian dissidents and the MEK.
A Belgian court sentenced an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, to 20 years in prison for his role in a plot to bomb a MEK conference outside of Paris in 2018. The Belgium government released Assadi in May in exchange for a Belgian aid worker taken hostage by Iran’s regime. According to a Reuters report, the NCRI condemned Assadi's release 15 years before the end of his prison term because it encouraged terrorism.
"Nothing justifies releasing a terror master," Shahin Gobadi from NCRI said. "Nothing."