Mehdi Abrishamchi (; born in 1947 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

) is an Iranian dissident political leader and high-ranking member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). and an official in the

National Council of Resistance of Iran The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; ) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania and was founded by Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr. The organization is a political coalition calling to overthrow the I ...

Early life

Abrishamchi came from a well-known anti-Shah

bazaari Bazaari ( Persian: بازاری) is the merchant class and workers of bazaars, the traditional marketplaces of Iran. Bazaari are involved in "petty trade of a traditional, or nearly traditional, kind, centered on the bazaar and its Islamic cultur ...

family in Tehran, and participated in the

June 5, 1963, demonstrations in Iran June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of summe ...

. He became a member of Hojjatieh, and left it to join the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1969. In 1972 he was imprisoned for being a MEK member, and spent time in jail until 1979.

Career

Shortly after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, he became one of the senior members of the MEK. Currently he's an official in the

Electoral history

Personal life

Abrishamchi was married to MEK leader

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi (, , ; born 4 December 1953) is an Iranian dissident politician and the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating the overthrow of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian government ...

from 1980 to 1985, and has since been married to Azar Khiabani ( Mousa Khiabani's younger sister).

Legacy

Abrishamchi credited Massoud Rajavi 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) (), is an Iranian dissident organization. It was an armed group until 2003, afterwards transitioning into a politica ...

after the " great schism".

References

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