On June 4, 2024, Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian senator, and ex-hostage, addressed a letter to Caroline Monnot, Editorial Director of Le Monde, expressing her concerns over an upcoming report completely worded against the Iranian Resistance, specifically targeting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).
Mrs. Betancourt, while clarifying her non-affiliation with the PMOI or the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), shares her extensive personal experiences and research on the group. She recounts her initial apprehensions, influenced by allegations and pressures, which led her to scrutinize the accusations rigorously.
The former Colombian presidential candidate recounts in her letter, how she discovered that many of these allegations against the organization were rooted in disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Iranian regime. She highlights the PMOI’s removal from terrorist lists in Europe, the UK, and the US following legal actions proving the allegations baseless.
Citing the thwarted bomb attack at a 2018 Villepinte conference, Mrs. Betancourt underscores the Iranian regime’s dangerous nature and the critical importance of fair reporting. Betancourt urges Le Monde to ensure balanced journalism by incorporating diverse perspectives beyond the PMOI’s detractors, emphasizing the need for thorough investigation given the high stakes involved in confronting authoritarian narratives.
The letter of Mrs. Ingrid Betancourt to le Monde follows:
Paris, 4 June 2024
Mrs Caroline Monnot
Editorial Director
Le Monde
Dear Mrs Monnot,
A member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has informed me that Le Monde is planning to publish an investigative report on the Iranian Resistance, and in particular on one of its members, the PMOI. I have also read the questionnaire that was sent to the NCRI yesterday, with 48 hours to reply.
First of all, I would like to clarify that I represent neither the PMOI nor the NCRI. However, I would like to share with you my personal experience of them. Nearly 15 years ago I myself was confronted with the same allegations set out in the questionnaire sent to me, after taking part in a conference in Paris in support of the Iranian Resistance. I went there in the company of Elie Wiesel, who had been very active in campaigning for my release and that of the FARC hostages in Colombia, as well as other European and American personalities renowned for their defense of human rights.
Ospite d'onore alla Conferenza Stampa in #Senato "#Iran: a un anno da #MahsaAmini, violenze e disinformazione del regime iraniano continuano", Ingrid Betancourt protagonista straordinaria nella difesa dell'#Universalità dei #DirittiUmani e dei #Diritti_delle_Donne, in particolare… pic.twitter.com/cfvEFt03tX
— Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) October 20, 2023
Very concerned about these accusations, and others just as serious, I decided to read all the articles, documents, and investigations supporting these allegations. I also spoke to several dozen members of the Iranian resistance, not only members of the PMOI but also Iranians living in Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin, who had also taken part in the conference and whose contacts I had kept. At that time, it has to be said, the PMOI had been included on the list of terrorist organizations of Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which increased my apprehension.
Nevertheless, after my research, and despite pressure from all sides – particularly from the US government – I came to the conclusion that some of these allegations were unfounded, some were the result of obvious distortion, and most were repetitions of accusations from the Iranian regime’s propaganda apparatus. I soon realized that the Iranian regime was conducting a systematic disinformation campaign against the PMOI, especially against the woman who heads it, Mrs. Rajavi. In fact, over the last few years, I have been approached by a number of people, under various pretexts, on a mission to dissuade me from expressing my support for this organization.
What worries me, and the reason for my letter, is that on an investigation of such importance – since it is linked to our ability as Westerners to confront a narrative that justifies, under the guise of religiosity, dictatorship, misogyny, and terrorism – other voices are not being heard apart from those of the PMOI’s detractors. The PMOI members were contacted at the last minute, but only to answer a closed questionnaire.
One can disagree with the PMOI or the NCRI, but it is worth pointing out that the PMOI has been removed from the European, British, and North American terrorist lists, following legal action that showed the unfounded nature of these allegations.
I was in Villepinte in June 2018, when an Iranian diplomat and his cronies undertook a bomb attack at a meeting in support of Iranian women. Thousands of people could have been murdered. Thanks to the intervention of French, Belgian, and German security forces, the attack was foiled, and the culprits were arrested and convicted.
Former Colombian Senator @IBetancourtCol: "I want to stress the role of @Maryam_Rajavi, which has been vital in empowering #women and going beyond fear. You know, I have been with Maryam for many years, and I have observed her through many stages." pic.twitter.com/h2suLjaQfz
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 27, 2024
The Iranian regime imprisons innocent European and American nationals in order to use them as bargaining chips against the criminals who serve it abroad. Today, there are more than a dozen European hostages in the regime’s jails, which has enabled Iran to obtain the repatriation of the Villepinte terrorists in exchange for the release of one of our nationals. Furthermore, the UN and the most emblematic organizations defending IHL condemned the extermination of thousands of PMOI activists in Iranian prisons in the 1980s by Khomeini and then by his successors. Finally, it is worth noting that it was the PMOI that warned of the resumption of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Iranian regime is a dangerous one, which imposes itself through blackmail, terrorism, and disinformation. An article in Le Monde targeting the only opposition to have survived, the only one to stand up to the dictatorship on the ground, will send a political message of disavowal to its activists who brave the morality police and revolutionary guards in the streets of Iran on a daily basis.
I would therefore ask you to take the time you need to get to the bottom of this inquiry, even if it means talking to more witnesses, because the questions raised by the inquiry, as I have seen them, seem to me to express a point of view that would benefit from being contrasted.
I am, of course, at your disposal should you deem it necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Ingrid Betancourt