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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 19, 2010
CONTACT: Majid Roshan
PHONE: (202) 640-1947
E-MAIL: info@usccar.org
WASHINGTON - The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents welcomes the
unanimous judgment on July 16 by a United States Federal Court of Appeals
which said that the then-Secretary of State, in refusing the petition filed in
2008 by the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), to
be removed from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), had
violated the group’s due process rights. The Appeals Court remanded the case
to the Secretary for reconsideration with specific instructions.
The Committee urges the Secretary of State to promptly remove the PMOI from the
FTO list as the Court has recognized that “a strict and immediate application of
the principles of law which we have set forth herein could be taken to require a
revocation of the designation.”
The unjust and unnecessary continued blacklisting of the PMOI has not only been
a major impediment to democratic change in Iran but has also been used by the
governments of Iran and Iraq to subject our loved ones in Camp Ashraf in Iraq,
and inside Iran, to murder and inhumane treatment.
In the last days of the previous administration, the Department’s top
counterterrorism official, Dell L. Dailey,
pushed for the delisting of the PMOI, according to the New York Times.
Secretary Rice, however, overruled him.
Following Friday’s ruling, Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House
Veterans' Affairs Committee, urged the Secretary of State, “to use the
opportunity to revoke the terrorist designation of the PMOI.” He added,
“De-listing the PMOI is not only just but also to the benefit of the national
security interests of the United States, as Iran steps up uranium enrichment and
the freedom-seeking youth protest the ruling dictatorship.” “It is on these same
grounds that I introduced the bi-partisan resolution, H.Res.1431, which invites
the Secretary of State to vacate the designation of the PMOI,” the California
democrat said.
Noting that “the Federal Appeals Court’s ruling today is a long time coming,”
Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
welcomed the Court’s decision and said he was looking forward to the State
Department’s reconsideration. “The real terrorists - the corrupt regime in
Tehran - are the ones we need to be punishing,” the Texas lawmaker stressed.
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Residents of 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 Obligates 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 |
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