Mehdi Abrishamchi ( fa, مهدی ابریشم‌چی born in 1947 in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

) is a high-ranking member of the

People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...

(MEK).

Early life

Abrishamchi came from a well-known anti-Shah bazaari family in Tehran, and participated in

June 5, 1963, demonstrations in Iran The demonstrations of June 5 and 6, also called the events of June 1963 or (using the Iranian calendar) the 15 Khordad uprising ( fa, تظاهرات پانزده خرداد), were protests in Pahlavi dynasty, Iran against the arrest of Ayatollah ...

. He became a member of

Hojjatieh Anjoman-e Hojjatieh, also called The Hojjatie Society ( fa, انجمن خیریه حجتیه مهدویه, Anjoman-e Kheyriyeh Hojjatiyeh Mahdaviyeh, lit=Charity Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation, also spelled ''hojjatiya''), is a tradition ...

, and left it to join the

(MEK) in 1969. In 1972 he was imprisoned for being a MEK member, and spent time in jail until 1979.

Career

Shortly after

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, he became one of the senior members of the MEK. He is now an official in the

National Council of Resistance of Iran The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; fa, شورای ملی مقاومت ایران, Šurā-ye melli-e moqāvemat-e Īrān) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania. The organization is a political coalition ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Abrishamchi was married to

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi ( fa, مریم رجوی, , fa, مریم قجر عضدانلو) is a leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating for the overthrow of the Iranian government, and president-elect of its National Counc ...

from 1980 to 1985. Shortly after, he married

Mousa Khiabani Mousa Nasiroghli (Khiabani) ( fa, موسی نصیر اوغلی (خیابانی); 1947 – 8 February 1982) was a leading member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) and the commander of its armed wing from 1979 to 1982, when he was killed in ac ...

's younger sister Azar.

Legacy

Abrishamchi credited

Massoud Rajavi Massoud Rajavi ( fa, مسعود رجوی, born 18 August 1948 – disappeared 13 March 2003) became the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1979. In 1985, he married Maryam Rajavi, who became the co-leader of the MEK. After leaving ...

for saving the

People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...

after the " great schism".

References

1947 births Living people University of Tehran alumni People's Mujahedin of Iran members {{iran-bio-stub