USCCAR Condemns Forcible Displacement of 36 Ashraf Residents, Urges President Obama to Secure Their Release

USCCAR Condemns Forcible Displacement of 36 Ashraf Residents, Urges President Obama to Secure Their Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 2, 2009

CONTACT: Majid Roshan
PHONE: (202) 640-1947
E-MAIL: info@usccar.org

Washington, DC - The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents urges President Obama to intervene immediately to save the lives and to regain the freedom of the 36 residents of Ashraf abducted in late July during a deadly attack on the Camp by Iraqi forces.

It is past time for the United States to uphold the pledges it has made to residents of Camp Ashraf and hold the Iraqi government accountable for breach of its commitments to treat Ashraf residents humanely.

On Thursday, October 1, 2009, in defiance of three court rulings and a definitive opinion from the Chief Prosecutor, Iraqi forces raided the prison in Al-Khalis to take the 36 Iranians - on hunger strike for 65 days - to an unknown location in Baghdad. There is hardly any doubt that the September 14 remarks by a U.S. embassy spokesman in Baghdad that Iraqi had the right to relocate the residents of Ashraf served as green light for this move, which is a blatant violation of international law, and a mockery of Iraq's judiciary. It confirms that the Al-Maliki’s government prefers doing Tehran's bidding to honoring its obligations to the laws and judiciary of Iraq itself.

The transfer puts the lives of the 36 in serious jeopardy. They are already in poor health after a hunger strike of 66 days, and they will be at greater risk now that they are refusing to take liquids. The Iraqi Government may be planning to repatriate them to Iran, in further violation of international norms.

USCCAR deplores the fact that neither the White House nor the Department of State has taken any position regarding these blatant breaches of international humanitarian law, the law of human rights, and Iraq’s written assurances to the United States.

In 2004, US forces signed an agreement with everyone in Ashraf including the 36 abductees, recognizing them as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The agreement states that, until “viable disposition options” become available and final decisions are made, each person shall remain under US protection.

The Obama administration should take action and fulfill these promises. Under international law, the hand-over of "sovereignty" to the Iraqi Government did not end the responsibility of the United States for the protection of Ashraf residents. Article 45 of the Fourth Convention provides that if the transferee state fails to honor its obligations, the transferring party — here the United States — must “take effective measures to correct the situation, or shall request the return of the protected persons.”

The State Department's milquetoast assurances that the Iraqis will do the right thing have done little to allay the profound concerns of families of Ashraf residents, on hunger strike outside the White House for the past 66 days.

Iraq must honor its solemn and enforceable commitments to the US that Ashraf residents would be treated humanely and release the 36 hostages.

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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