Massoud Rajavi
| Massoud Rajavi | |
|---|---|
Rajavi in 1994
|
|
| Leader of People's Mujahedin of Iran | |
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Assumed office January 1979 Serving with Maryam Rajavi (Since 1985) |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 August 1948 Tabas, Iran |
| Political party | People's Mujahedin of Iran |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Religion | Islam |
| Disappeared |
c. March 2003 (aged 54–55) Iraq |
Massoud Rajavi (Persian: مسعود رجوی, born August 18, 1948 – disappeared March 13, 2003) is one of the two leaders of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), alongside his wife Maryam Rajavi. After leaving Iran in 1981, he resided in France and Iraq. He disappeared in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and it is not known whether he is alive or dead. Rajavi has been wanted by Iraq since 2010 for crimes against humanity.
Rajavi joined the MEK when he was 20 and a law student at the University of Tehran. He graduated with a degree in political law. Rajavi and the MEK actively opposed the Shah of Iran and participated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
During the Pahlavi dynasty, Rajavi was arrested by SAVAK and sentenced to death. Due to efforts by his brother, Kazem Rajavi, and various Swiss lawyers and professors, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He was released from prison during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Upon his release, Rajavi assumed leadership of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.
When Iran’s first presidential election took place in 1980, Rajavi nominated himself and his own People's Mujahedin of Iran. He was endorsed by the People's Fedai, the National Democratic Front, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, Komala and the League of Iranian Socialists. He was disqualified in the elections by Ayatollah Khomeini on the grounds that 'those who did not endorse the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran could not be trusted to abide by that constitution'.
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Wikipedia