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Victory for Justice and Human Rights
36 Dying Residents of Ashraf
Released, Brought Back to Camp Ashraf
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The Iraqi
Government bows and ends unlawful and inhumane detention of the 36.
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The 36 were on
hunger strike in captivity for 72 days.
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Upon their
return, they are rushed to Ashraf hospital, many on the verge of
death.
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Hunger strikes in
Camp Ashraf, Washington, Berlin, Ottawa, London, Stockholm end.
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Worldwide
campaign to obtain guaranteed protection for Ashraf will go on.
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In this Issue:
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Tehran's Plot Against Ashraf Residents Foiled: 36
Abducted Residents Return to Ashraf,
USCCAR Statement,
October 7,
2009
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Iraq frees 36 Iranian dissidents
taken in deadly raid, Agence
France Presse,
October 7, 2009
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UN human rights office welcomes release of
Iranian detainees in Iraq,
UN News Wire,
October 9, 2009
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Camp Ashraf groups vow to fight on,
BBC News Service, October 8,
2009
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Iraq frees 36 Iranian opposition members,
German News Agency, October 7,
2009
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USCCAR: Tehran's Plot
Against Ashraf Residents Foiled: 36 Abducted Residents Return to Ashraf
Statement by USCCAR
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 36 Camp Ashraf residents,
taken hostage by Iraqi security forces 71 days ago and subjected to inhumane and
degrading treatment at the hands of their captors, triumphantly returned to
Ashraf earlier today, thereby foiling a plot, designed by the Iranian regime and
implemented by its Iraqi proxies, to destroy Ashraf and slaughter its residents.
The Iraqi Government, which attacked Ashraf on July 28 & 29 at the behest of
Tehran, finally bowed to the unflinching resolve of the 36 hostages, hundreds of
Ashraf residents, their supporters and families - on hunger strike outside the
White House, in Ottawa and in several European capitals - and to the universal
condemnation of the deadly and unprovoked assault on Camp Ashraf, home to 3,400
members of the main Iranian opposition group, the PMOI/MEK.
Following this major victory and upon the appeal by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the
President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, those in Ashraf and around the world
have decided to end their hunger strike and pursue other peaceful means at their
disposal until clear, effective and practical guarantees concerning the
protection of the residents of Ashraf and their non-displacement within the
territory of Iraq as mandated by International Humanitarian Law are put in
place. The 10-month siege of Ashraf by Iraqi forces must also end and families,
lawyers and friends of Ashraf residents must be allowed to visit the Camp. If
these justified demands are not met, the hunger strikers vowed to resume their
fast...
The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents extends its sincere gratitude to
all those who joined this valiant campaign and calls on the U.S. and the UN to
initiate a thorough investigation into the July raid on Ashraf and the
subsequent illegal detention of 36 residents, so that those responsible for this
humanitarian tragedy are held to account...
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Iraq frees 36 Iranian dissidents taken in deadly raid
Agence France Presse
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities have released 36 Iranian dissidents who had been
imprisoned for months, were on hunger strike for weeks and also lately refused
water, a spokesman for the prisoners said on Wednesday.
The members of the People's Mujahedeen, an exiled opposition group, were seized
during a raid on Camp Ashraf, a refugee base in Diyala province north of Baghdad
in July that left 11 people dead, and are now mostly in ill-health.
"On the 72nd day of their hunger strike and seventh day of a dry hunger strike,
36 ... hunger strikers who had been taken hostage in Iraq returned triumphantly
to Camp Ashraf," said spokesman Shahriar Kia.
"Upon their arrival, they were immediately taken to Ashraf medical centre to
rest and be looked after," he added.
The prisoners were arrested by Iraqi police at Camp Ashraf in a July 28-29
operation, held nearby for three days and transferred to a prison in a local
town before finally being taken to a detention facility close to Baghdad.
A judge ruled three times that they must be released but officials repeatedly
refused to comply, justifying the prolonged detention on the grounds that the
prisoners had entered Iraq illegally.
No one from the government was available to comment on the issue, which is
considered politically sensitive given Baghdad's close ties with Iran.
In September, US Ambassador Christopher Hill vowed to press the government,
which the Mujahedeen say answers to Tehran, to honour assurances that Camp
Ashraf residents would be treated humanely and not repatriated to Iran...
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UN human rights office
welcomes release of Iranian detainees in Iraq
UN News Centre
Friday, October 9, 2009
9 October 2009 – United Nations human rights officials today welcomed the Iraqi
Government’s decision to release 36 members of an Iranian dissident group who
had been detained since July when security personnel used force to take control
of the camp where they had been staying.
Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR), told journalists in Geneva that the world body was
grateful that the Government had responded to a request from High Commissioner
Navi Pillay to release the detainees.
The 36 people are part of around 3,400 members of the People’s Mojahedeen
Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mujahedin-e Khalq, who have been
living in Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala province.
In a two-day operation in late July, Iraqi security personnel took control of
Camp Ashraf. Eleven people were killed and dozens more were wounded in that
operation, Mr. Colville said.
“All detainees in Iraq, including members of PMOI, are entitled to proper
judicial procedures and – if there is evidence they may have committed a crime –
a fair trial,” he said. “They should be granted all the rights guaranteed to
them under international and domestic laws.
“The Iraqi court at al-Khalis, where the detainees were first held, twice
ordered their release because of a lack of credible evidence, but for reasons
which remain unclear they continued to be held in detention for a total of some
two and a half months.”
Mr. Colville stressed that OHCHR considers it “a matter of paramount importance
that a long-term solution be found for the residents of Camp Ashraf, inside Iraq
or elsewhere. We recognize that the past history of several members of this
group is a complicating factor. But the status quo is not tenable.
“In the meantime, the fundamental rights of the camp’s occupants should be
respected, including the right not to be forcibly returned to their home country
so long as there is a risk of torture.”
Mr. Colville said OHCHR and the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) would
continue to monitor the situation in Camp Ashraf...
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Camp Ashraf groups vow to fight on
BBC News Service
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Supporters of the residents of a camp for Iranian dissidents in Iraq say they
will continue their international protests demanding the US and the UN give them
protection.
On Wednesday, dozens of supporters around the world ended a 72-day hunger strike
after one of their main demands was met - the release of 36 Camp Ashraf inmates
detained by the Iraqi authorities for the past two-and-a-half months. They
were seized during a raid on 28 and 29 July.
Video filmed by people in Camp Ashraf appears to show Iraqi police and soldiers
shooting and beating camp residents. Up to 11 inmates are reported to have been
killed and hundreds wounded.
Camp Ashraf was handed over to Iraqi government control at the start of 2009 by
the Americans. US forces had taken control of the camp after the 2003 invasion
of Iraq.
It had long been one of the main bases of the Iranian dissident group, the
People's Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI)…
After the seizure of the 36 camp residents in July, an international campaign
was mounted to put pressure on Iraq to release them. Hunger strikes were
held in several major cities around the world to publicise the case. In London,
12 relatives and friends of people in the camp kept up their hunger strike
outside the US embassy for 72 days.
Now the detainees have been released, they've ended their hunger strike, which
consisted of taking only tea and sugar to keep them alive…
Camp Ashraf presents the US with a difficult dilemma. Its handover of control in
January was part of its phased withdrawal from Iraq. The Iraqi government
gave assurances that the inmates would be treated humanely and not forcibly
returned to Iran. The raid in July put this in question.
Camp residents say the Shia-led Iraqi government - which has close political
ties with Tehran - is receptive to Iranian pressure to expel them. They fear
that if they are repatriated, they could face torture, imprisonment or
execution.
If the US allowed this to happen, it would not fit well with Washington's
professed support for opposition activists in Iran.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that the PMOI is still designated a
terrorist organisation in the US - a label the European Union lifted earlier
this year.
But for now at least, the US seems likely to use its influence on the Iraqi
government to make sure it keeps its word on Camp Ashraf...
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Iraq frees 36 Iranian opposition members
German News Agency (DPA)
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Baghdad - Iraqi authorities on Wednesday freed 36 members of an Iranian
opposition group detained during July clashes between Iraqi security forces and
members of the group.
The detainees were taken into custody during clashes between members of the
People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) and Iraqi security forces entering the group's
base at Camp Ashraf in northern Iraq. Seven members of the group died in the
clashes.
A spokesman for the group, also known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq, said the freed
detainees had been beaten in custody and that “most of them were on the verge of
death.”…
In Washington, supporters of Camp Ashraf ended a 70-day hunger strike they had
been staging outside of the White House, claiming vindication with the release
of the 36 prisoners. Their protest began during the clashes in late July...
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Iranian Dissidents and their Families in Camp Ashraf
More than 3,400 members of Iran’s
main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) and their families, among
them nearly 1,000 Muslim women, reside in Camp Ashraf in
Iraq. The PMOI was the source of ground breaking revelation in the United
States in 2002 about Iran’s two until-then secret nuclear sites at Natanz and
Arak.
On July 28-29, 2009, Iraqi forces
ordered directly by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acting at the behest
of Iran rulers, carried out a violent, unprovoked raid on Camp Ashraf, killing
11 residents, wounding 500, and abducting 36.
The brutal raid on Ashraf was a
blatant violation of the solemn commitment Iraq had given to the United States
that it would provide "humane treatment of the Camp Ashraf residents in
accordance with Iraq’s Constitution, laws, and international obligations."
The assault took place while U.S. service members on the scene were observing
the situation closely. Regrettably they took no action to prevent the
premeditated violence despite direct appeals by Ashraf residents at the outset
and during the attack.
International Humanitarian Law Obligate U.S. to Provide Continued Protection for
Camp Ashraf Residents in Iraq
On July 2, 2004, the United States formally
recognized members of the PMOI in Camp Ashraf as “protected persons” under the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Both the U.S. and Iraq are parties to all four
1949 Geneva Conventions.
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs […]”.
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“In no circumstances shall a protected person
be transferred to a country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution
for his or her political opinions or religious beliefs.“
United States had legal and moral
obligations and responsibilities under international humanitarian law to protect
these Iranian exiles.
About
the U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents:
The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf
Residents (USCCAR) was established in December of 2003 by families and relatives
of residents of Camp Ashraf. The purpose of the Committee is to ensure the
safety and security of those Iranians and others living in Camp Ashraf. The
Committee will defend the proposition that the protections of the Fourth Geneva
Convention, as well as of other treaties and customary international law, must
be applied to the Iranians in Iraq. For more information please visit:
www.usccar.org
About
Ashraf Monitor
Ashraf Monitor newsletter is a
compilation of news and commentaries about the developing humanitarian
crisis for nearly 3,500 members of Iran's main opposition, the People's
Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Ashraf Monitor is
compiled and distributed by the US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR).
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