Working to Ensure Safety and Security of Our Loved Ones in Camp Ashraf

Archbishop Desmond Tuto defends the rights of Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Wednesday, 30 June 2010
NCRI – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. Tuto of Cape Town reiterated his support for the rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf, home to members of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran living in Iraq, in a letter addressed to the residents on June 25. Text of his message follows... Read More
 

47 doctors in US call on Clinton to take measures against medical restrictions on Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

Saturday, 26 June 2010
NCRI - In a letter to US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, “the Society of Physicians for a Free Iran” in the US wrote a latter signed by 47 doctors and specialists, protested the medical restrictions against Camp Ashraf, Iraq, where more than 3,500 opposition members reside. The doctors voiced support for a majority resolution at the US House of Representatives which supported the rights of Ashraf residents and called for their protection by Washington. “Since US forces transferred protection of Ashraf to Iraqi forces [in early 2009], pressures against the camp have intensified and a siege has been imposed on the residents,” the letter said... Read More
 

In a message, US Congressman praises Iranian opposition for supporting uprising and Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

Wednesday, 23 June 2010
"Greeting to those who are supporting the Iranian people at the Paris gathering. I’m Congressman Mike Coffman and proud of serving the United States Congress. I have also served the U.S. Marines in Iraq. It has been one year since the post-election uprising in Iran, and nearly ten months after Iraqi forces attacked Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf. Many young people in Iran have stood up for freedom and democracy, and they should know that American people stand with them. Many thought that the opposition in Iran would not be able to stand up to the government’s brutality, but one year later, the movement for freedom and democracy is alive and growing stronger. The same is true for the Iranians in Camp Ashraf who survived violent attacks against them... Read More

Jordan MP condemns inhumane measures against Camp Ashraf in Iraq
NCRI Website

Wednesday, 23 June 2010
NCRI - A Jordanian member of Parliament has condemned the illegal and inhumane measures of the Iraqi forces and elements of the Iranian regime’s intelligence services against the residents of Camp Ashraf. Camp Ashraf, Iraq, is home to about 3,500 members of the main opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The Jordanian lawmaker, Mahmoud al-Kharabsheh, who is also the Chairman of the Arab Delegation for Defending Ashraf, was referring to the pressures and limitations on Ashraf residents by the Iraqi government and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the behest of the clerical regime in Iran... Read More

Tehran regime is trying to set the stage for executing political prisoners and attack on Ashraf
NCRI Press Release

Sunday, 20 June 2010
NCRI - In a frightful reaction to the uprising of the Iranian people on June 20, last night, the faltering clerical regime relayed a completely false accusation from the head of Mazandaran province prosecutor’s office who announced that, “5 people have been arrested [in relation] to recent attempts by the PMOI to plant bombs in several cities in Mazandaran.” He went on to make another absurd claim, adding, “The Ramsar judiciary worked on behalf of the judiciary system to arrest these individuals. There is no additional information at this point” (Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, June 19, 2010). The religious fascism ruling Iran has failed to confront public anger and rage toward the absolute clerical system and has been unable to curb the rising popularity of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) among the Iranian people. Officials and media outlets of the clerical regime, which is also grappling with intense internal fissures and crises, have in the past week resorted to a series of attempts at hollow show of force in order to raise morale among their forces, claiming that “a 60-mm mortal launcher as well as military mortar shells have been discovered on Jomhouri Street” (Javan Online, June 12, Tabnak website, June 13). They have also announced “the arrest of a number of PMOI members in Tehran (Tehran Governor, Fars news agency, June 15), “the arrest of two PMOI terrorist teams that were seeking to plant bombs in several squares in Tehran” (Heydar Moslehi, Minister of Intelligence, June 15), as well as “the confessions of two members of the terrorist PMOI grouplet” (Raja News, June 18)... Read More
 

40 Iraqi lawmakers write to US State Department and UNSG representative on Camp Ahsraf
NCRI Website

Sunday, 20 June 2010
NCRI - Subsequent to a decision by the American forces to leave Camp Ashraf, home to the main Iranian opposition, and simultaneous with heightening plots by the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government to annihilate Camp Ashraf, 40 Iraqi parliamentarians wrote separate letters to American and UN officials, expressing concern about the situation in Ashraf.

As American forces prepare to withdraw from Iraq, Iraqi political forces are expressing significant concerns and worries about the Iranian regime’s hegemonic ambitions. Many are saying that if these ambitions are not curbed, Iraq and the region will be faced with catastrophic consequences. In recent weeks, pressures and meddling to influence the results of the March elections against the al-Iraqiya list have peaked. At the same time, there were attempts to meddle in the Judiciary to obtain favorable rulings for recounting votes as well as bombings and creating an unstable and insecure environment... Read More

Iraqi govt denies launching attack on Camp Ashraf
Saturday, June 19, 2010
AKnews (Kurdish News Agency)
Baghdad, June 19 (AKnews) - The outgoing Iraqi government denied on Saturday its intention to attack Ashraf Camp saying there were genuine efforts to get The people's Mujahedin Of Iran (PMOI), or the Mujahedine Khalq, out of the Iraqi territories in a diplomatic non-violent way. The next government is responsible for "getting PMOI out of the Iraqi territories completely", an official source in the Iraqi government said... PMOI claimed on Saturday that the Iraqi government was planning to attack the camp, where thousands of PMOI members and supporters live in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, in the coming days... Read More
 

Iranian regime's fresh attempts at causing tensions to set the stage for attacks against Camp Ashraf
NCRI Press Release
Friday, 18 June 2010
NCRI - The religious fascism ruling Iran, in coordination with its embassy in Baghdad and the committee in charge of suppression of Ashraf at the Iraqi government, seeks to renew its efforts to blackmail and instigate crises against Ashraf to increase pressure on its residents as American forces prepare to withdraw from the Grizzly Base in Ashraf.

Information obtained from inside Iran indicate that as a first step in that direction, the clerical regime plans to send a number of its agents under the guise of Iraqi sheikhs and reporters to Ashraf tomorrow morning, June 19, 2010. The plan is to cause mayhem and crises against the residents of Ashraf, paving the way for renewed attacks and massacre, with the help of agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) who are camping in front of Ashraf’s gate as “families” of the residents... Read More
 

Our Enemy's Enemy Is Our Enemy? The Strange Case of the U.S.-MEK Relationship
THE HUFFINGTON POST

By Allan Gerson

Friday, 18 June 2010
The enemy of our enemy is our friend. Every schoolboy knows this. Somehow, the U.S. State Department thinks differently. It persists in keeping the MEK/PMOI (the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran), the largest Iranian anti-mullah militant organization, on the State Department's List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. It persists in doing so despite the fact that the MEK has rejected terrorism for over a decade, never targeted Americans (except in the case of a splinter group in the early 1970s, which also murdered a number of the MEK as well), and is a key proponent of democracy and freedom in Iran. Puzzled as to how this could occur, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), Chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, felt compelled to declare at the Congressional Iran Briefing on June 10, 2010, that: "It is questionable to list on that [State Department] List entities which are not enemies of the United States but are enemies of the enemies of the United States." Moreover, Congressman Brad Sherman continued, "I have difficulty understanding what has the MEK done, even remotely, in recent times, that causes the MEK to be on that list. I do know there is no entity more feared, more hated by the mullahs who run Iran, than the MEK -- which is perhaps the finest compliment that could be paid to that organization... Read More

Allen Gerson, former US official: A country denying freedom to its people is ripe for being aggressive
NCRI Website

Wednesday, 16 June 2010
NCRI - At a Congressional briefing on Thursday, June 10, several members of the U.S. House of Representatives emphasized the need for the continued U.S. protection of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The bi-partisan call was made in light of the announcement by the United States military that the U.S. intends to evacuate Camp Grizzly in Ashraf and turn it over to the Iraqi Security Forces by July 1st. Many members at the briefing, which coincided with the anniversary of the uprising in Iran, also called for the removal of Iran's main opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). The following is the text of speech by Allen Gerson, a former senior State and Justice Department official.I want to begin by thanking the organizers of this event and especially thanking the sponsors of this terribly important resolution. I have only one thing to say, that is that important as this resolution is, it is not anywhere as important as the facts on the ground... Read More
 

Iraqi government prevents entry of three fuel tankers and cooling devices to Camp Ashraf
NCRI Press Release

Wednesday, 16 June 2010
NCRI - The Iraqi Prime Ministry committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf residents and the Iraqi forces continue Ashraf’s siege and their suppressive measures at the behest of the Iranian regime. In the very recent case, they have prevented since June 12th entry of three fuel tankers as well as some air conditioners and other cooling devices that Ashraf residents have purchased at their own cost and with quite many difficulties. This is while Ashraf residents are in dire need of fuel and cooling devices in extremely hot temperature in summer. Currently, the temperature in Ashraf is in excess of 50 degrees Celsius in shade. At the same time, the Ashraf Committee continues the siege on Ashraf, which started more than 18 months ago, and prevents entry of most primary necessities of Ashraf residents in a bid to exert pressures on them. On the other hand, Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) dispatched yesterday more of its agents under the guise of families of Ashraf residents from Iran to the camp’s gate to intensify its blatant and suppressive campaign against Ashraf residents that has been going on for 130 days... Read More

Iranian exiled group denies members arrested
Reuters

June 16, 2010
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - An exiled Iranian opposition group denied on Wednesday that some of its members had been arrested in Tehran. Iranian state television reported on Tuesday that members of the Mujahideen Khalq Organisation (MKO) were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry before they could detonate bombs in the capital. Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi did not say how many had been arrested or when. The government said those arrested were trained in Iraq. In an email to media, the opposition group denied "these absolutely false claims" which it said were part of a misinformation campaign. The opposition group said that "by falsely alleging that those arrested had gone from Iraq to Iran, (the Iranian government) is setting the stage for launching an attack on Camp Ashraf" in Iraq... Read More

Iran: Clerical regime's lies and repulsive TV shows against the Resistance
NCRI Press Release

Wednesday, 16 June 2010
NCRI - Subsequent to the failure of the clerical regime's suppressive measures to prevent anti-government demonstrations and uprisings, the clerical regime has intensified its ridiculous misinformation campaign against the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance.

By organizing repulsive TV shows, bringing its intelligence minister and other officials to the scene, using its agents and disseminating fabricated lies, the clerical regime intends to boast the morale of its demoralized forces and prepare the grounds for the execution of political prisoners and relatives of Camp Ashraf residents under the pretext of "Moharebeh" (waging war on God)... Read More

U.S. Congress concern for MEK in Iraq
Iran Focus

Sunday, 13 June 2010
Washington, Jun. 13 - Concern for the safety of members of the People's Mojahedin of Iran is mounting in the U.S. Congress as the American military prepares to evacuate a base near Camp Ashraf, where the group's members reside in Iraq, and turn it over to Iraqi security forces. Members of the House of Representatives are calling for continued protection of the Iranian opposition group PMOI/MEK at Ashraf after control of the area is subjected to an Iraqi government more friendly to the regime in Tehran. They also urged that the group be removed from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. "We cannot allow a human rights catastrophe to occur in Iraq just because we are in the process of leaving", Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, said Thursday at a congressional briefing on the scheduled 1 July departure of U.S. forces from Camp Grizzly, situated in the immediate vicinity of Camp Ashraf. "The world would be better, and of course Iran would be better, if the people of Iran were able to have a government worthy of their great culture … Until then, the folks at Camp Ashraf are in a difficult circumstance, and it is critically important that the United States monitor that camp, both today and after July 1", said Sherman, who is chairman of the House foreign affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade... Read More

Majority of French parliament supports the Iranian people's uprising and protection of Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

Saturday, 12 June 2010
NCRI – On the brink of the new Iraqi parliament’s opening session and formation of a new government, and as US forces prepare to withdraw from Iraq in July and August, the majority of the French parliamentarians have emphasized the US government’s commitments and responsibilities to guarantee the protection of Ashraf residents in Iraq as ‘protected persons’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The parliamentarians also insisted on the Iraqi government’s obligations regarding the protection and observance of the rights of the 3,400 residents in Ashraf, who are members of the main Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). 310 members of France’s National Assembly issued a declaration calling on their government to request from the United Nations to assume the responsibility of the protection of Ashraf residents and their rights. Many of the signatories also serve as mayors of various French cities in conjunction with their roles at the Parliament. The majority of the 577-seat parliament represent all political groups in the Assembly. The members described the invitation of the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, to resist against the religious fascism and to strengthen national solidarity as a foundation for democratic change in Iran. Mrs. Rajavi’s call also rejects the policy of appeasement towards the mullahs as well as foreign military intervention in Iran. The majority of France’s National Assembly also condemned the sham trials and executions of PMOI supporters on charges of ‘moharebeh’ (war against God)... Read More
 

Resolution in Congress seeks Iranian freedom

The Washington Times
June 11, 2010
A bipartisan group of House members on Thursday put forward a resolution calling for the Iranian government to cease the oppression of its people and political dissidents. The representatives held a news conference to highlight the resolution, which is being sponsored by Rep. Bob Filner, California Democrat, and which they put forward on the first anniversary of the start of Iran's violent postelection uprising. The representatives, many of whom are on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said they hope their resolution will help bring democracy to the Islamic republic. “It encourages the Iranian people to know that it's not them we have a quarrel with; it's their government,” said Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican and resolution co-sponsor. “Any enemy of the mullah is a friend of ours,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican and resolution co-sponsor. Some of those who attended the news conference - especially those with family imprisoned or oppressed in Iran - stopped the House members to thank them for sponsoring the resolution... Read More
 

Bipartisan US Congress session emphasizes rights of Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Saturday, 12 June 2010
NCRI – At a meeting at Capitol Hill, Democratic and Republican members of the US House of Representative insisted on the rights of Camp Ashraf residents in Iraq, home to 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). They also underscored the imperative of continued protection for the residents and called on Washington to remove the PMOI from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. A petition signed by 100,000 Iranians from cities across Iran was also unveiled at the meeting, which called on President Obama to delist the PMOI. The congressmen at the meeting also condemned the trial of PMOI supporters as “moharebs” (enemies of God) in Iran by the regime and echoed demands to remove the terror label from the organization.
In their remarks, the members of the House of Representatives stressed that: The continuation of the terror listing against the PMOI is truly incomprehensible; The Iranian regime fears no other organization as much as it fears t PMOI and despises it the most, and this is the best indication for the PMOI’s status... Read More
 

Iraq Base at Center of Deadly Raid to Close
Camp Ashraf Housing Iranian Opposition Group Was Site of 11 Deaths in 2009 Iraqi Security Force Raid
CBS News
June 10, 2010
(AP) The U.S. military will relinquish control of a base near a compound housing an Iranian opposition group next month, a move that will close a chapter on one of the most intractable issues in U.S.-Iraqi relations. The presence of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran at Camp Ashraf has long been an irritant to Iraq's Shiite-led government, and the exiles expressed fear that they would face violence without the Americans there to protect them. The announcement of the base closure Thursday came nearly a year after Iraqi security forces raided the camp, prompting a melee that officials said left 11 residents dead and dozens injured. (Scroll down to watch the report CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan filed on the attack in 2009) The U.S. military guarded the camp since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 under an agreement that made its more than 3,000 residents "protected persons" under the Geneva Conventions. The military stopped observing the agreement after a new security accord with the Baghdad government took effect last year but maintained the nearby base... Read More
 

US to close base near camp housing Iranian exiles
Associated Press
June 10, 2010
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military will relinquish control of a base near a compound housing an Iranian opposition group next month, a move that will close a chapter on one of the most intractable issues in U.S.-Iraqi relations. The presence of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran at Camp Ashraf has long been an irritant to Iraq's Shiite-led government, and the exiles expressed fear that they would face violence without the Americans there to protect them. The announcement of the base closure Thursday came nearly a year after Iraqi security forces raided the camp, prompting a melee that officials said left 11 residents dead and dozens injured. The U.S. military guarded the camp since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 under an agreement that made its more than 3,000 residents "protected persons" under the Geneva Conventions. The military stopped observing the agreement after a new security accord with the Baghdad government took effect last year but maintained the nearby base... Read More
 

Iraq: Ongoing concerns for the 3,400 PMOI members living in Camp Ashraf

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
June 3, 2010
Geneva - The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is deeply concerned that around 3,400 members of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition movement, living in Camp Ashraf, in Iraq, continues to face serious threats, despite several calls by the international community and OMCT to ensure their protection. OMCT recalls that the Camp was raided by Iraqi forces in July 2009, which resulted in the death of several residents and the injuries of many others, in view of expulsing them to Iran. The camp has since been under control of the Iraqi forces. The United Nations Secretary General, in his quarterly report to the Security Council dated 14 May 2010 on the situation inside Iraq, wrote, “Distrust and tensions between both sides [Ashraf residents and Iraqi government] remained, with limited cooperation regarding access to services and supplies in the camp.” The Secretary General also stated that UNAMI1 “continued to advocate for the residents’ unhindered access to goods and services of a humanitarian nature, as well as for their right to be protected from arbitrary mass displacement or forced repatriation against their will in violation of the universally accepted principle of non-refoulement.”... Read More
 

Heavy sentences and increased pressures on relatives of Ashraf residents continue in Iran
NCRI Website

Monday, 07 June 2010
NCRI - The inhumane clerical regime in Iran is exerting more pressures on political prisoners and particularly relatives of members of the main opposition in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, by issuing heavy sentences against them.

• Maryam Akbari Monfared, a 36 year old mother of three toddlers, has been sentenced as “mohareb” (enemy of God) to 15 years imprisonment at Karaj’s Gohardasht prison, even though her case is completely empty. She has been imprisoned since December 31, 2009, at the solitary and public cells of Ward 209 of the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Ms. Akbari Monfared once voiced protest at a show trial calling the judge incompetent. According to the judge, Salamati, she is guilty because her relatives are in Camp Ashraf as members of the main opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), while some of her other relatives were also PMOI members and have been executed by the regime for that reason. Four members of Ms. Akbari Monfared’s family have thus far been executed by the regime, including 20 year old Alireza and 26 year old Gholamreza in 1981, as well as Roqieh, 30, and Abdolreza, 23, who were slain during the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.

• 25 year old political prisoner Reza Joushan is being pressured to sign a form asking to be pardoned by the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. He suffers from acute illnesses, but the henchmen have made access to medical treatment conditional on his signing of the form. However, Reza has been resisting and protesting against the regime’s pressures. Reza and his mother, Ms. Zahra Asadzadeh Gorji, who is being held at Gohardasht prison in Karaj, have been banned from family visits for the past two months. The father of the family, 52 year old Mohammad-Salam Joushan, was also arrested on May 26, 2010 and transferred to Evin prison, but so far there is no information about his condition... Read More
 

Heavy sentences for detained relatives of Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Monday, 07 June 2010
NCRI - As an extension of pressures on political prisoners whose relatives reside in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, the regime’s henchmen have stepped up threats and abuses against the 23 year old student activist and political prisoner Hassan Tarlani.

• Mr. Tarlani has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and exile at Kerman prison. He is currently being held in cells where regular and dangerous prisoners are kept, most of whom are drug addicts. He has been banned from having contacts with other political prisoners, while prisoners on death row have been transferred to his cell in order to increase pressures on the student activist. Agents of the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) are not allowing his family to visit him despite the fact that they incur huge financial costs and have to travel lengthy distances to see Mr. Tarlani. His family is only allowed to visit him once a month for 15 minutes in visitors’ cabin. The agents have also confiscated all of Hassan’s identification documents, rendering a legal investigation of his case impossible. Hassan is the grandson of a slain supporter of the main opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Hassan-Ali Safai, who was a well-known Bazaar merchant. Mr. Safai was executed by the ruling religious fascism in Iran in 1981 for supporting the PMOI. Hassan was arrested on February 20, 2009, along with a group of other relatives of Ashraf residents, after which he was transferred to the notorious Evin prison. Regime officials have charged him with keeping pictures of his mother and brother at his house, both of whom are residents of Camp Ashraf, Iraq... Read More

Rights groups hold Geneva conference in support of rights of Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Sunday, 06 June 2010
NCRI – On the sidelines of the fourteenth session of the UN Human Rights Council, a conference in support of the rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq was held at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. Camp Ashraf, Iraq, is home to some 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The conference was organized after invitations from the World Organization Against Torture, the Foundation of Danielle Mitterrand, former French First Lady and Director of France-Liberté, and MRAP (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples). The Secretary General of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Eric Sottas, chaired the conference. The OMCT is one of the most credible global non-government organizations dedicated to the advancement of human rights in the world. Professor Steven Schneebaum, lecturer of international law at the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University in Washington, Mrs. Erica Deuber-Ziegler, a prominent human rights figure and former parliamentarian from Geneva, Mr. Gianfranco Fattorini, representative of MRAP at the United Nations, and Dr. Ali Safavi, member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), spoke at the event... Read More

Expelling refugees from Camp Ashraf violates international law
EFE News Agency (Spain's news agency)

Friday, June 3, 2010
Geneva, June 3 (EFE) - Expelling Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf in northeastern Iraq for the past thirty years would constitute a violation of international law, according to Steven Schneebaum, Professor of International Law at the John Hopkins University. "The direct or indirect expulsion of the inhabitants of the Camp Ashraf would violate several international provisions in force since 1950 and incorporated in several conventions," said the lawyer on the sidelines of the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council.  Camp Ashraf is home to 3,500 refugees who oppose the Iranian regime and "are being subjected to a situation of terror, because they live under constant threat of invasion and being driven to a remote location in the desert," added Schneebaum. The camp was guarded by the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2009 when its control was transferred to Iraqi armed forces.  The Iraqi government has repeatedly threatened to move the camp to the south of the country, but to date no such order has been given. "The United States has a moral obligation and a legal duty to protect the interests of refugees. Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention clearly states that the occupying power must reassume the protection of the people living in the occupied area if their rights are not observed by the country to which the protection was transferred," recalled the professor, who announced that Washington would have the right to regain control of the camp in order to protect its residents... Read More

Iran: Prisoner sentenced to 15 years for a family visit in Ashraf
NCRI Website

Thursday, June 3, 2010
NCRI - Hamid Haeri was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Court. He was charged with “Moharebeh,” (waging war against God), for visiting his son in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Mr. Hamid Haeri, while suffering from acute ailments, unable to walk on his own, was transferred from solitary confinement to the 28th Branch of the Revolutionary Court without his lawyer and family being notified. He was recently transferred to solitary confinement in Ward 240 of Tehran’s Evin prison. Mr. Hamid Haeri who is 57-years-old, on October 6, 2009 in a raid by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security was arrested and sent to Ward 209 of Evin Prison where he spent 74 days in solitary confinement. He was later transferred to Ward 350... Read More

UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion highlights Iraqi raid on Camp Ashraf in latest report
NCRI Website

Thursday, June 3, 2010
NCRI – In report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has highlighted instances of crimes against humanity committed by Iraqi forces in Camp Ashraf in July 2009, specifically the hostage taking of 36 residents. Camp Ashraf, Iraq, is home to about 3,400 unarmed Iranian political activists, members of the main Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The Iranian regime has since 2003 pressured the Iraqi government to extradite the residents to Iran, where they could face torture and execution for campaigning for democracy. Among other things, the UN Special Rapporteur notes in his report to the UN Human Rights Council that fears were expressed concerning the possibility of “forcible return of these Iranian nationals to Iran in circumstances where they would be at risk of serious human rights violations, including execution and torture.” Baghdad has, at the behest of the Iranian regime, continued to exert inhumane pressures on the residents and carried out a deadly raid in July 2009. During the violent incursion, 36 of the residents were taken hostage by Iraqi security forces... Read More

US lawmaker urges Obama and Clinton to protect Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Thursday, June 3, 2010
NCRI – A member of the US House of Representatives has called on the American government to protect more than 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, in the face of potential attacks by the Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxies.
In statements published in the official Congressional Record, Ed Towns of New York notes, “The United States Government signed an agreement with each and every individual in that Camp to protect them against potential attacks and mistreatment from Iran or its proxies in Iraq.” Mr. Towns goes on to say, “I want to urge President Obama, and Secretary Clinton to make sure that we live up to our moral obligations. I do not want to see a situation a few months from now, in which we would find ourselves investigating the U.S. role in failing to protect these people.” ... Read More

Iran: Call to save the life of a political prisoner on fifth day of his dry hunger strike
NCRI Website

Tuesday, 01 June 2010
The state of Mr. Hamid Haeri’s, a 60-year-old political prisoner, has deteriorated on his fifth day of dry hunger strike. He went on hunger strike when he was transferred to solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison. His transfer took place for refusing to yield to inhumane pressures and demands of the regime.  Mr. Haeri, who served a prison term in 1980s, suffers from various ailments and has had two heart attacks. Not taking his medications and being on a dry hunger strike seriously threatens his life. In December 2009, while bedridden due to an auto accident injury, was arrested for visiting his brother and his son at camp Ashraf in Iraq. In March, during a sham trial, he was accused of waging war on God, (Moharebeh), supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, ongoing political activities, and engaged in propaganda activities against the clerical regime... Read More
 

UN report documents al-Maliki government's gross rights violations against Ashraf residents
NCRI Website

Saturday, 29 May 2010
NCRI – In a report to the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, UN officials documented a series of crimes committed by the clerical regime in Iran as well as Iraqi forces on July 28 and 29, 2009, against 3,400 unarmed members of the main Iranian opposition movement residing in Camp Ashraf near Baghdad. The report echoes fears concerning the possibility of forcible return of Ashraf residents to Iran where they could face execution or torture. UN officials are cited in the report for sending urgent appeals to the Iraqi government in this regard, including the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The report, which was circulated at the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, documents the deadly attacks by the forces of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in July 2009, which were carried out with the collaboration of the terrorist Qods Force of the Iranian regime, against Camp Ashraf. In its 16-article detailed account, it particularly points to the hostage taking and torture of 36 Ashraf residents in addition to the raid, all of which are considered gross examples of crimes against humanity... Read More

Iran: Father arrested for his son's stay in Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

Friday, 28 May 2010
NCRI - Mr. Mohammad Salam Joshan, 52, father of a member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, was arrested on Monday evening, May 24, at his work place in Sorkhe-Hesar of Karaj, west of Tehran and taken to Evin prison. He was charged with rebellion and acting against national security. His wife, Zahra Asadpour Gorji (Joshan), 52, and his son, Reza, 25, had been arrested within one week in December 2009 and put in solitary confinement in Ward 8 of Gohardasht prison in Karaj. This prison is under the control of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The regime is putting pressure on this family and torturing them in order to force their son leave Ashraf and return to Iran. Mrs. Asadpour had previously been jailed for 16 months for visiting her son in Ashraf together with her daughter, Fatemeh... Read More

The IRCT expresses its concern for the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq
NCRI Website

May 28, 2010

Independent torture rehabilitation organizations (IRCT) in its latest report on May 28 2010, highlights the human rights situation in Camp Ashraf.The IRCT is the umbrella for more than 140 independent torture rehabilitation organisations in over 70 countries. Each year our members treat more than 100,000 torture survivors and their families. Camp Ashraf has been home to Iranian refugees for over 23 years. Last year 11 people died and over 500 were injured when the Iraqi security forces attempted to establish a command post within the camp. Since then the camp has been under siege by Iraqi forces. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his quarterly report to the Security Council of 14 May 2010, stressed the rights of residents of Camp Ashraf for protection against arbitrary displacement in Iraq or forced extradition to Iran. The IRCT is particularly concerned by the risk of torture residents face if the Iraqi government follows through on its stated intent of relocating the residents to Iran. Thus, in addition to ending the siege of the community we call on the government of Iran to desist from enforced relocation for the Ashraf residents... Read More

UN warns of dangers posed to Iranian dissidents in Iraq
Iran Focus
Saturday, 29 May 2010
London, May 29 - As Iraqi politicians struggle to form a new government, the fate of 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition group, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), has been hanging in the balance, with Iran demanding that authorities in Baghdad clamp down on the group. The group, based in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad, has come under increasing pressures and clampdown by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government. But in recently released reports, international human rights groups and senior United Nations officials chastised the Iraqi government for its crackdown on the group last year and not responding to the repeated inquiries about the treatment of the Ashraf residents. Last July, Iraq forces carried out a violent raid on the camp killing 11 residents and injuring scores of others. Amnesty International, in its annual human rights report published on Thursday, said: "Video footage showed Iraqi security forces deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of protesting camp residents. The security forces also used live ammunition, apparently killing at least nine camp residents, and detained 36 others who they tortured." ... Read More

Pressures on incarcerated PMOI supporters and families of Ashraf residents continue to mount
NCRI Press Release

Sunday, 23 May 2010
NCRI - On Wednesday, May 19, the clerical regime, during a kangaroo court, tried Mr. Hamid Haeri, a 60-year-old political prisoner, on charges of “moharebeh” (waging war against God), supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), persistent political activity and propaganda against the regime. He was arrested in a raid on his house by the regime’s intelligence agents on December 6, 2009 on charges of visiting his child and brother in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. The raid took place while he was in bed recovering from a serious car accident. He was then transferred to Ward 209 of Evin prison. The regime’s interrogators and torturers have placed Mr. Haeri under continual physical and psychological torture, threatening him that if he refuses to comply with their demands, they will also arrest his wife and daughter and place them under torture... Read More

Death row political prisoner's son unveils mullahs' deception
NCRI Website

Saturday, 22 May 2010
On May 19, Voice of America interviewed son of Jafar Kazemi, a political prisoner on death row.
Voice of America (VOA) - One of the people on death row is Jafar Kazemi whose son resides in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Camp Ashraf residents face many problems and we have reported on this in the past. But today, this is not our discussion. We will now go to Mr. Behrouz Kazemi (Jafar Kazemi’s son).

VOA: Mr. Kazemi, as an Iranian who lives outside Iran and who lives in a place like Camp Ashraf, with whatever beliefs and opinions you have, which is not what our discussion is about, as a human being who has heard the news of your father’s sentence, what are your feelings?

Behrouz Kazemi: When I heard of my father’s death sentence, for me as his son, it was extremely difficult to hear that he was arrested and sentenced to death after visiting me in Camp Ashraf. The news was very difficult for me to hear.

VOA: What is he being accused of? We hear that one of his ‘crimes’ is that he visited you.

BK: Yes. As you know, the regime has sentenced six people to death and one of them is Jafar Kazemi. My father was arrested on Qods Day demonstrations. For two weeks, we did not have any news of his situation. Eventually we found out that my father was held in Evin prison. Approximately four months after that, in a show trial, my father was sentenced to death... Read More

Calls for Urgent Action for Six on Death Row for Links with PMOI
Amnesty International
May 21, 2010
Ja’far Kazemi is now known to be among six men facing execution in Iran for their alleged links to the banned group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). In some cases, these links may amount to no more than having contact with family members linked to the PMOI. The six could be executed at any time.

Tehran’s prosecutor announced on 15 May that the death sentences of Ja’far Kazemi, Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaei, Mohammad Ali Saremi (or Sarami), Abdolreza Ghanbari (or Qanbari) and father and son, Ahmad and Mohsen Daneshpour Moghaddam, were upheld by the Appeal Court after they were found guilty of moharebeh(enmity against God) in relation to their alleged links to the PMOI. He also stated that the three had asked for a pardon. Two women, Motahareh (Simin) Bahrami and Rayhaneh Haj Ebrahim, and one other man, Hadi Gha’emi have had their death sentences commuted to prison terms. Mohammad Amin Valian was acquitted of moharebeh on appeal and his sentence commuted to imprisonment and payment of a fine.

Ja’far Kazemi is also believed to have been convicted of "propaganda against the system". He was accused of participating in mass anti-government protests in September 2009, but not of committing any violent acts. Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaei is thought to have faced similar charges. Mohammad Ali Saremi is believed to have been held since 2007 after speaking at an event commemorating the summary executions of thousands of people in Iranian prisons in 1988. He was sentenced to death in December 2009 for allegedly being a member of the PMOI... Read More

Human rights group condemns political executions in Iran
Iran Focus

May 21, 2010
London, May 21 - The international community should support independent voices in Iran and "strongly condemn" the execution of political activists there, a leading international human rights group said. "The Iranian judiciary is a tool in the hands of Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad to repress harshly peaceful protesters and political opponents", the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in a statement posted on its website Thursday. The Tehran prosecutor-general Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced on 15 May that death sentences pronounced against three out of 10 post-election protesters charged with “moharebeh” (waging war on God) had been upheld by the Court of Appeal.  Abdolreza Ghanbari, Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam and his son Ahmad Daneshpour Moghadam were convicted of "moharebeh" for supporting the opposition People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and taking part in anti-government protests last year. Dolatabadi confirmed that three other Mojahedin supporters - Mohammad Ali Saremi, Jafar Kazemi, Mohammad-Ali Haj-Aghai - also had their death sentences upheld by the appeal court. In all, he said, 217 sentences against post-election protesters have been confirmed by the appeal courts... Read More

Kaldani National Movement in Iraq supports Camp Ashraf
Arab Secular Network

May 18, 2010

The Kaldani National Movement expresses deep worries about pressures exerted on Iranians residing in Camp Ashraf north of Baquba in Iraq. These pressures and restrictions are contrary to human rights principles and international treaties on the rights of refugees. The measures violate Iraq’s international commitments, international law and International Humanitarian Law, which was created after the Second World War. In recent months, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, in cooperation with the Iraqi embassy in Tehran and the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, has sent a number of Iranians under the guise of Ashraf residents’ families to the camp’s gate in order to pressure the residents and launch a psychological warfare against them. Iraqis clearly understand that these are not the families of Ashraf residents but rather agents of the clerical regime who are being led and protected by the Iraqi forces... Read More
 

Strong condemnation of death sentences for families of Ashraf residents
International Committee In Search of Justice

Sunday, 16 May 2010
The Iranian regime announced on Saturday 15 May that the death sentences for six political prisoners who are families of Camp Ashraf residents and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) have been endorsed. Mohammad Ali Saremi, Jaafar Kazemi, Mohsen Daneshpour-Moghadam and his son Ahmad, and Mohammad Ali Haj-Aqai have been sentenced to death because they had visited Camp Ashraf and they have relatives there. According to Tehran’s Prosecutor General, the sixth person named Abdulreza Qanbari has been sentenced to death because “on the day of Ashura [uprising] he sent reports to PMOI directly.” The declared policy of the Iranian regime and the government of Iraq is destruction of Ashraf. The agents of the Iranian Intelligence and the terrorist Quds force posing as families of Ashraf residents have assembled at the main gate of Camp for three months, torturing the residents psychologically and instigating unrest and chaos. Their actions are aimed to set the stage for massacre of the residents... Read More
 

Iranian regime and Iraqi PM's committee force defectors from Ashraf to return to Iran
NCRI Press Release

Saturday, 15 May 2010
NCRI - According to credible reports obtained from inside the Iranian regime, after the 2008 closure of the Temporary International Presence Facility (TIPF), which was controlled by the American forces, and following the transfer of Camp Ashraf’s protection to the Iraqi forces in early 2009, the Iranian regime’s Intelligence Ministry is seriously pressuring those who defected from Ashraf with earlier promises of traveling to Europe to return to Iran instead. Some of the defected individuals have given testimonies from inside Iran, the taped recordings of which are available to be provided to international authorities. According to these testimonies, after leaving Ashraf, the defectors were taken by Iraqi forces to Mohajer Hotel in Baghdad and placed under house arrest. Eight of them were placed in a room that usually holds only two people. The doors were then locked and the defectors were treated like prisoners. On a daily basis every single defector was taken to the ground floor of the hotel to be interrogated by the clerical regime’s intelligence operatives and later sent back to their rooms... Read More
 

UN Secretary General's quarterly report to Security Council stresses on Ashraf residents rights
Friday, May 14, 2010

In his quarterly report to the Security Council, UN Secretary General stressed the rights of residents of Camp Ashraf, Iraq, for protection against arbitrary displacement in Iraq or forced extradition to Iran. Here is an excerpt:

“UNAMI continues to monitor the situation in Camp Ashraf in Diyala Governorate. … Although no significant outbreaks of violence have occurred during the reporting period, distrust and tensions between both sides remained, with limited cooperation regarding access to services and supplies in the camp. UNAMI, while reiterating the right of the Government of Iraq to exercise its authority over Camp Ashraf and the obligation of the camp’s residents to fully respect the law and the authority of the Government of Iraq, has continued to advocate for the residents’ unhindered access to goods and services of a humanitarian nature, as well as for their right to be protected from arbitrary mass displacement or forced repatriation against their will in violation of the universally accepted principle of non-refoulement. UNAMI remains committed to assisting both parties find an acceptable resolution to this problem.” ... Read More

Iranian regime's new schemes to maintain failed campaign of deploying agents to Ashraf gate
NCRI Press Release

Wednesday, 12 May 2010
NCRI - On Tuesday, May 11, the Iranian regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the terrorist Qods Force redeployed a group of their agents at the main gate of Ashraf fully equipped with items such as placards and new loudspeakers. They had previously been taken to the Iranian regime's Embassy in Baghdad in order to receive new instructions and briefings. Upon their arrival, the Iraqi military that is supposedly present there to protect Ashraf residents opened the gate and installed with the help of the agents the new big placards that were sent by MOIS from Tehran on Ashraf's gate from inside the Camp. Videos and photos showing the Iraqi soldiers installing the placards that carry provocative and abusive slogans and words are available. According to the information obtained from inside the regime, the agents are to install 10 new loudspeakers at the location and continue with their psychological torture of the residents by using 27 loudspeakers... Read More
 

Iranian regime's latest conspiracies against Camp Ashraf
NCRI Press Release

Tuesday, 11 May 2010
NCRI - According to reports obtained from inside the Iranian regime, concurrent with the presence of the regime’s agents at Camp Ashraf’s main gate, the terrorist Quds Force (extraterritorial arm of the mullahs’ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) seek to organize further conspiracies against the residents of Ashraf, which is located in Diyala province in Iraq. Some of these plots, which are planned with the cooperation of the government of Iraq and make use of Iraqi agents and proxies, are as follows... Read More
 

A group of agents stationed at Ashraf gate gone to Baghdad to report and to be briefed
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
NCRI - A group of five agents of the clerical regime deployed at the entrance gate of Camp Ashraf were taken to Baghdad on Monday, April 19, to present their report directly to the officials of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the terrorist Quds force. They were to be briefed by the Iraqi committee tasked to close down Ashraf that is controlled by the Prime Minister’s office. The group was comprised of Gholamreza Ramezani and his sister, Soraya Abdullahi, Mah Monir Jalali and Alireza Vadian. Some of these agents have been at the entrance gate of Ashraf since February 8.

The agents who have been camping in front of Ashraf with the help of the Nouri al-Maliki’s government for more than 70 days to torture the residents psychologically are in constant contact with the regime’s embassy in Baghdad by phone and sometimes go to Baghdad to receive briefings and new instructions… Read More
 

Iran regime's agents taking films and photos from inside Ashraf for spying and terrorist operations
NCRI Press Release

Monday, 19 April 2010
NCRI - The camping of the Iranian regime’s agents, posing as families of Ashraf residents, at the main entrance gate of Camp Ashraf has been going on for over 70 days. This is a joint plot by the Iranian regime and the government of Nouri al-Maliki to create chaos and put the residents under psychological torture. One of the tasks of these agents who are dispatched by the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the terrorist Quds force is espionage and to gather intelligence about Ashraf and its residents to be used in terrorist and criminal operations.

With mobile and fixed cameras, the agents, who are backed by the Iraqi forces, have been filming and taking photos from people and premises inside Ashraf. The films and photos are attached with reports by the agents and sent to Quds force and MOIS via the Iranian regime’s embassy in Baghdad.

On February 20, 2010, the agents installed a camera on the southern part of the entrance zoomed on one of the buildings near the entrance inside Ashraf. It constantly films people going in and out of the building. On the same day, a team of three MOIS agents filmed various parts at the entrance… Read More
 

Iran: Five members of an Ashraf resident family sentenced to death as Mohareb
NCRI Press Release

Monday, 19 April 2010
Iranian Resistance calls for actions to save the lives of the prisoners
NCRI - In an unprecedented and inhumane decision, the Iranian regime has sentenced five members of an Ashraf resident family to death charged with Mohareb. Mr. Mohsen Daneshpour-Moghadam, 67, a bazaar merchant along with his wife Mrs. Motahareh (Simin) Bahrami, 55; their son Ahmad Daneshpour; Mrs. Bahrami's niece Ms. Reyhaneh Haj-Ibrahim; and Mr. Hadi Ghaemi, a family friend, had been arrested and transferred to Evin Prison on Ashura day (December 27, 2009).

The family was arrested for their visit to Camp Ashraf last year to see their son and a relative. Mr. Daneshpour, a political prisoner of the 1960's had already spent five years in Iranian regime's prisons on the charges of sympathizing with the People's Mohjahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)… Read More
 

Iraqi government lies about its Thursday attack on Ashraf residents to set stage for further attacks
NCRI Press Release

Saturday, 17 April 2010
NCRI - While the Thursday night attack by the Iraqi forces against Ashraf residents has earned another disgrace for Nouri al-Maliki and his outgoing government, the Iranian regime and its agents in Iraq have resorted to fabrication of more lies and deception.

By misrepresenting the facts and making contradictory claims, they are trying to evade further disgrace on the one hand and to set the stage for more attacks on the residents of Camp Ashraf on the other.

The Iraqi forces inhumane attacks against the residents have prompted condemnations by Iraqi groups and personalities as well as widespread international condemnations.

Upon the advice of the terrorist Quds Force and the Iranian regime’s embassy in Baghdad, the committee within Prime Minister’s office that is responsible for suppression of Ashraf residents and the Iraqi Army Intelligence (Estekhbarat) based in Ashraf pretended in their reports that the incident on Thursday evening was instigated by the residents during which a number of the Iraqi forces were wounded.

The Iraqi News Information Agency (al-Iraqnews.net) associated with al-Maliki Quoted last night “a security source within the Iraqi Army” as saying, “The elements of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) today clashed with Iraqi security forces in charge of protection of Ashraf... PMOI members have installed loudspeakers on camp’s buildings to play songs that encourage resistance... The camp’s security guards asked them to stop playing the songs... After their refusal a number of guards acted to remove the loudspeakers but they faced violent reactions by the PMOI members that lead to clashes which left five of them severely wounded.”… Read More
 

Iraqi forces attack Ashraf residents in support of Iranian regime's agents
NCRI Press Release

Friday, April 16, 2010
Iranian Resistance warns against mullahs’ plots and demands protection of Ashraf residents by the United Nations and guarantees of the United States
NCRI - On Thursday evening, at about 23:30 local time, in a failed attempt, Iraqi forces attacked Ashraf residents and tried to overtake some of installations inside the camp. The assault took place in support of the agents of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the terrorist Quds Force stationed at the entrance of Ashraf for the past 66 days.

The agents, with full support of the Iraqi army battalion and the clerical regime’s embassy in Baghdad, have been psychologically torturing the residents of Ashraf. Using high powered amplifiers and loudspeakers they have been threatening to “set fire” and “close down” Ashraf and “kill” PMOI members residing in the camp and to “pull their tongues out of their throats.” The agents have been disrupting peace for the camp residents. Video clips and pictures of these agents have been regularly provided to the international bodies as well as the American forces and relevant US authorities...

Five Ashraf residents were wounded in the attack. Their names are: Karim Gomasai, Mehdi Abdulrahimi, Azim Mish Mast, Rahim Sohrabi and Khaled Shah Karami. They were taken to hospital for treatment...

The Iranian Resistance reiterates that the events of last night showed once again that the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government are determined to suppress and destroy Ashraf and draws the attention of the United Nations Secretary General, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq and the US officials and military commanders to the ongoing tragedy in Ashraf. It also strongly demands the United Nations to assume protection of Ashraf residents and calls on the US forces to guarantee the protection as it had committed itself to at the time when it disarmed the residents...  Read More

Iraqi battalion collaborates with Iranian regime in psychological torture of Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Press Release

Thursday, 15 April 2010
NCRI - Reports sent by the Iranian regime's embassy in Baghdad to the terrorist Quds Force and the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) reveal that Iraqi Prime Minister’s office and the Iraqi Army battalion stationed at Ashraf are cooperating fully with the MOIS agents camped out at Ashraf’s main gate.

According to these reports, the Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 37th Brigade of the 9th Division of the Iraqi Army and the battalion's chain of command, supposedly responsible for protection of Ashraf residents, are providing logistical support to the MOIS agents posing as families of Ashraf residents ever since they were brought to the gates of Ashraf on February 8, 2010.

In the past two months, the battalion commander Colonel Latif Abdol-Amir Hashem Al-Enavi, has been assisting the MOIS agents, personally arranging for everything they need. His deputy, two officers of the Iraqi Army's intelligence branch and two other army officers are also helping them. Col. Al-Enavi has assigned two officers to ensure that these agents are fully satisfied and have everything at their disposal.

The battalion provides them with loudspeakers, drums and cymbals among other things. It also arranges the agents' transportation between their residence, the regime's embassy in Baghdad, and Camp Ashraf as well as their trips to and from Iran. Three of the battalion's vehicles and their drivers are allocated to these agents. Under the instructions of the battalion commander, these vehicles are well maintained... Read More

1,000 Women in Camp Ashraf Under Siege
The Women's International Perspective
April 2, 2010

By Maryam Zoljalal
Camp Ashraf, 50 miles north of Baghdad, is home to 3,400 Iranian dissidents, including 1,000 women, all members of the Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PPO) of Iran, living as political refugees for nearly 3 decades and under the Fourth Geneva Convention after 2003. My name is Maryam Zoljalal, 28, and I am one of these women. Due to the oppression of my people in Iran by the ruling mullahs’ regime, I left my life and education in Sweden and relocated to camp Ashraf in Iraq. I have lived in Ashraf for the last 10 years for the freedom of my people, being the voice of the oppressed women of my country. Currently I spend part of my time as a nurse in the Camp Ashraf clinic.

Camp Ashraf is a small city in Iraq and its residents are mainly Iranian intellectuals - educated in various Iranian universities, as well as U.S. and European countries, all opposing the religious fascism ruling Iran. While cherishing life and family, they devoted themselves to bringing freedom and democracy to Iran, and by coming to Ashraf, joined a resistance for a better future and democracy for their country. Ashraf is a small democratic society where women have key leadership roles. They have become the mainstay for Iran’s new generation to resist and persevere and also confront the mullahs’ dictatorship and oppression.

The Iranian regime has used every opportunity to terrorize and oppress Ashraf residents, especially in the past two decades. My mother, Efat, was gunned down in an Iranian regime’s Quds Force terrorist attack in Baghdad on May 17, 1995. I loved her very much...  Read More

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