It has only been a few months since Der Spiegel magazine officially apologized to its readers for a number of baseless stories by its reporter Claas Relotius whom it subsequently fired. However, a new set of allegations in another article goes to prove that Relotius was just one of Der Spiegel daydreamers. Der Spiegel systematically and deplorably violates the principles of professional media, including freedom of speech and impartiality.
Fact number 1: The suspicious timing of Der Spiegel’s fake allegations
Indisputably, the regime ruling Iran is at its worst socio, economic and political state since its inception 40 years ago. The uprisings, protests and demonstrations that began in December 2017 continue unabated.
By the incentivizing activities of “resistance units” (supporters of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran) composed of young men and women, hope is taking the place of rampant fear and terror amongst Iranian people. Regime’s leaders have repeatedly stated that MEK/PMOI is their most prominent existential threat.
Concurrently, bankrolling regime’s proxies in the region from the pocket of Iranian people has created abhorrence within the Iranian society. Even Khamenei has testified to the fact that inflation, steep prices, plummeting value of the national currency, unemployment, etc. is the product of mismanagement. On August 13, Khamenei in the Khomeini’s Hosseinieh based-Tehran said: “Economic experts and many officials agree that today’s livelihood problems do not emerge from foreign sanctions; rather, they are tracked down to our internal issues.”
Moreover, since the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, the regime is facing many obstacles in financing its regional mercenaries.
Another factor is the dire political and international situation facing the regime. In the face of regime’s terrorism abroad and warmongering, the west progressively moves toward abandoning its failed policy of appeasement. The conference on the Middle East in Warsaw held on February 13-14 and the consensus reached by over 60 countries testifies to this fact. Decades long call by the Iranian Resistance, including demonstration and acts by the resistance during this conference, once again called on the international community to adopt a firm policy toward the main state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
As Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of NCRI, emphasized in her broadcast message to the Warsaw Iranian rally on February 13:
It is noticeable that just one day after the conference and at a time when through its huge demonstration MEK/PMOI had the spotlight on the democratic alternative, Der Spiegel Der Spiegel daydreamers demonized the MEK/PMOI.
The timing of these lies that were warmly received by mullahs’ media betrays an ominous plan. Especially considering the letter by Mr. Mathieu von Rohr, the deputy foreign editor in Der Spiegel, to the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Germany that stated that originally the article was to go to print on 24 November 2018, but its publication was deferred to a later date more beneficial to the Iranian regime.
Fact number 2: Export of soft terrorism to Germany!
Still more disgraceful is the striking similarity between Der Spiegel daydreamers and the media affiliated with the regime. Der Spiegel demonizes its victims (the MEK/PMOI stationed in Albania) without even giving them a chance to respond or accepting an invitation to visit them. The NCRI representative in Germany has twice invited deputy foreign editor of Der Spiegel to visit the residence of the MEK/PMOI in Albania.
This shameful act or ‘soft terrorism’, in the words of Ms. Ingrid Betancourt[A1] , is accompanied by fake news and allegations that remind Iranians of regime’s “Islamic Revolutionary Courts”; a stain on the democracy and free press in the 21st century.
Fact number 3: A journalistic-welcome-mat for the hard terrorism of the main state sponsor of terrorism!
The truth is that the PMOI is the prime target of the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world. A fact that Verfassungsschutzbericht Hamburg 2017, Verfassungsschutzbericht Nordrhein-Westfalen 2017, and a domestic intelligence agency report presented by Germany Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, have disclosed in their annual report. However, Der Spiegel daydreamers have not even bothered to take a look at these reports by their own country.
However, years of experience tells us that the story does not end here with mullahs’ soft terrorism. Since 40 years ago, the demonizing is completed by a wave of massacre of the MEK/PMOI members. The execution of 120,000 members and supporters of the MEK/PMOI in Iran, assaults by armored vehicles and missile barrages in Iraq, and the assassination of MEK/PMOI members in Switzerland, Italy and Trukey are grim reminders of this truth.
The latest examples of which are terrorist plots in Albania and France that led to the expulsion of regime’s ambassador to Albania, the arrest of regime’s top diplomat in Austria on German soil, and the listing and confiscation of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry unit assets by the French government.
Therefore, not only the blemish on Der Spiegel and other media serving the whims of the fundamentalists in Iran is nothing new but we can think of it as the direct consequence of taking the nobility of journalism to the altar in order to save one of the worst global violators of human rights that has been condemned 65 times by the United Nations General Assembly.
