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

Message to Iraq
The Washington Times

Thursday, 25 March 2010
A leading Iranian exile in Washington is praising Congress for a resolution demanding that Iraq fulfill its promises to protect Iranian dissidents held in a former rebel camp north of Baghdad and guarantee that none will be deported to Iran to face certain execution.

"Since the June uprising in Iran, this is the first major act of support for the Iranian democracy movement by a majority of members of Congress," Alireza Jafarzadeh told Embassy Row.

The bipartisan resolution is endorsed by 125 Democrats and 96 Republicans, guaranteeing its passage by the full House when it comes up for a vote. The supporters include nine committee chairmen, two committee chairwomen and 30 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"This will certainly get the attention of Tehran, Baghdad and Washington, and, most importantly, the Iranian streets," said Mr. Jafarzadeh, president of Strategic Policy Consulting and the Iranian dissident who exposed Iran's secret nuclear facilities in 2002.

Twelve congressional leaders last week announced they had reached 221 supporters for the House resolution that "deplores the ongoing violence by Iraqi security forces" against the Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf and calls on the Iraqi government to "live up to its commitment to the United States to ensure the well-being" of the camp's 3,400 residents, who include 1,000 women. The resolution also urges President Obama to take "necessary and appropriate" measures to prevent inhumane treatment against the camp residents who are recognized as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention... Read More

German lawmakers defend Ashraf residents' rights and support Iranian nationwide uprising
NCRI Web Site

Wednesday, 24 March 2010
NCRI - A statement defending the rights of Ashrf residents in Iraq and expressing support for the nationwide upring in Iran signed by over 100 German lawmakers from various political parties were presented in a meeting on March 23 at the Reichstagpräsidentenpalast of the German Bundestag. The meeting was attended by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance and a number of German MPs and heads of parliamentary committees... Read More
 

Ridiculous effort by mullahs and al-Maliki to blame PMOI for Iraq election fraud
NCRI Press Release

Monday, 22 March 2010
NCRI - While the Iraqi nationalist forces in al-Iraqiya election list take lead in the results of ballot count, the Iranian regime and Nouri al-Maliki’s establishment suddenly claimed that the election results have been manipulated by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) to the benefit of al-Iraqiya list, therefore there should be a complete recount of all the votes by hand. Previously, they also blamed the European Parliament’s revelations of Iraqi election fraud on the PMOI. Ironically, the regime and al-Maliki group have so far been insisting on the transparency of the elections in Iraq and that they were void of any fraud.
In the meantime, the khabaronline website, affiliated to the Iranian regime, reported today that “Ayad Alawi’s mother is a Lebanese and not an Iraqi, therefore he cannot become the Prime Minister of Iraq.”

In a report last night, al-Maliki’s Afaq TV claimed: “The international company assigned by the United Nations to prepare a computer program for counting ballots is affiliated to the terrorist People’s Mojahedin Organization … which has linked the electoral commission’s data banks together in Baghdad. This enables the company to monitor and control the data banks from a remote location.” ... Read More
 

Iraq election: Sectarianism threatens Iraq's future
Daily Telegraph

Thursday, 18 March 2010
By Brian Binley, a Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom's Conservative Party and a member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom
Early results in Iraq's elections show current Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's State of Law political group running neck-and-neck with former Iraqi leader Ayad Allawi's bloc, but electoral fraud and Maliki's sectarian stance threaten to push the country into further political fragmentation.

Independent election monitors have already highlighted electoral discrepancies and have expressed concern. The monitors specifically noted the presence of security forces in polling stations who were urging people to vote for a given party.

The ongoing delay in announcing results has also fed the rumour mill with more talk of electoral fraud. However, the greater question revolves around how the victorious party will go about setting up a coalition government. If, as early results suggest, Nouri Al-Maliki is victorious he will get the first shot... Read More
 

Finland: Majority of lawmakers support Iran uprising, rights of Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Web Site

Sunday, 14 March 2010
NCRI - At a session organized by the Human Rights group of the Finnish Parliament, and in the presence of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect, at the parliament building, a declaration of support by the majority of the country’s lawmakers for the Iranian people’s uprising and the rights of Camp Ashraf residents was unveiled. A book containing the signatures of the lawmakers was presented to Mrs. Rajavi by Mr. Kimmo Sasi, the Chairman of the Finnish Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee.

The declaration of majority support at the Finnish Parliament in support of the Iranian people’s uprising and the rights of Camp Ashraf residents was signed by more than 100 members of the Finnish Parliament, including 6 committee chairs, 11 deputy chairs, and leaders and deputies of various factions... Read More
 

Iranian regime and Iraqi suppressive committee dispatch more mullahs' media reporters and agents to Camp Ashraf
NCRI Press Release

Saturday, 13 March 2010
NCRI - Escalation of stage-managed shows at the entrance of Camp Ashraf are aimed at covering up scandals caused by election fraud in Iraq by the Iranian regime and al-Maliki

Entering the second month of joint plots by clerical regime and the Iraqi committee for suppression of Ashraf residents, the Iranian regime dispatched a new group of its agents on Friday to Camp Ashraf to further create chaos at the camp's entrance. To continue suppression of the camp residents, the new agents who are disguised as families of Ashraf residents have been transferred from cities across Iran to replace another group that for about a month were involved in psychological torture of camp residents.

On Saturday, the Iranian regime's embassy in Baghdad in collaboration with the office of Iraqi Prime Minister took a number of reporters; including some from Iranian regime's affiliated news media (al-Aalam TV, al-Forat TV, Press TV, Kosar TV, al- Bayeneh newspaper), the Iraqi state-run TV (al-Iraqiya) and BBC Persian Service TV to the entrance of Camp Ashraf. By such stage-managed media shows and interviews with its agents, the Iranian regime intends to pretend that the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is obstructing family visits of camp residents... Read More
 

Iraqi forces refused entry of fuel tanker and lorries carrying supplies to Ashraf
NCRI Website

Friday, 12 March 2010
NCRI - The Iraqi forces on Thursday evening, March 11, sent away a fuel tanker after waiting for two weeks to be allowed into Camp Ashraf. The Iraqi committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf residents refused entry permission and kept the tanker waiting in a parking at the entrance to Ashraf. In the meantime, lorries carrying supplies were also sent away after two weeks hitch. In the past 14 days, the Iraqi forces have been creating a lot of obstacles for entry of fuel tankers and supplies that have been paid for by Ashraf residents. The consignments were obtained through great difficulties by the residents.
The committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf has been obstructing entry of fuel to Ashraf for almost six months as part of increasing pressures on the residents. During this period the residents have only been supplied with 20 days of their need. This has created enormous difficulties and hardship for the residents in the cold winter... Read More
 

Majority of MPs urge UK government to help protect Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

Friday, 12 March 2010

A majority of backbench MPs on Thursday called on the Government to take urgent measures at the United Nations for the world body to protect 3,400 Iranian opposition members based at Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The cross-party MPs were backed in their call by more than 150 Peers.

The announcement was made at a press conference in the House of Commons, where MPs and Peers spoke in defence of the PMOI opposition group in Camp Ashraf. Speakers included: Rt. Hon. Lord Waddington, former Home Secretary; Joe Benton MP (Lab); Brian Binley MP (Con); Dr. Steve Ladyman MP (Lab); David Jones MP (Con); John Hemming MP (Lib Dem); David Amess MP (Con); David Drew MP (Lab); Lord Maginnis of Drumglass; Rt. Hon. Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, former Solicitor General; Lord Cotter (Lib Dem); Baroness Turner of Camden, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords; Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords; Lord Clarke of Hampstead, former Chairman of the Labour Party; Lord Wedderburn QC (Lab), Lord Lea (Lab); and renowned lawyers David Vaughan CBE QC and Claire Miskin... Read More
 

Protect Iraq's election results, and Iranian dissidents, from Tehran's meddling
Thursday, 11 March 2010
The Global Politician

By Majid Roshan, U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents
The significant success of Iraq’s non-sectarian nationalist block during the March 7 parliamentary elections is, no doubt, a major setback for Tehran and its Iraqi proxies. Still, with Iraq entering an anticipated period of post-election political uncertainty which could last for months, the United States, the United Nations, and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), must be vigilant and ensure that Iran rulers, through their Iraqi proxies, would not take advantage of the political instability to harm the residents of Camp Ashraf. These unarmed and defenseless Iranians, officially recognized as “Protected Persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention by the United States in 2004, are members and supporters of Iran’s main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and their families.

On March 1, Amnesty International released its 2010 “Iraq: Human Rights Briefing” in which it confirmed that the Iraqi security forces “continue to make life difficult” for several thousand Iranian dissidents residing in Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala Province, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. Amnesty International states in its report that: “The Iraqi government has continued to threaten Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf with forcible removal from the camp. On 28 July Iraqi security forces raided and took over the camp, in Diyala Governorate…” ... Read More
 

From Iran to Iraq, Tehran Rulers Crank Up Suppression of Dissidents
The Global Politician

March 3, 2010

By Majid Roshan, U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents
There is little doubt that the Tehran regime, fighting for survival in the face of nationwide uprisings, has pressured the Iraqi government to create bloodshed in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, thereby freeing the regime from one of its main and most organized democratic opposition movements. The mullahs’ reign of terror has been dealt a lethal jolt and there is no end in sight for the widening factional fissures and purges at the top. The unprecedented suppression of pro-democracy Iranians has extended beyond Iran borders to Iraq, targeting, by proxy, the 3,400 Iranian dissidents living at Camp Ashraf.

These Iranians, members of Iran’s main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and their families have been under a 14 month old unlawful and inhumane siege by the Iraqi military forces. During this period, they have been violently assaulted; threatened to be forcibly transferred to a notorious detention camp in the desolate and uninhabited deserts of southern Iraq near the Saudi border; deprived of urgent medical care, medicine and fuel; denied of visits by their families and their U.S. and European legal representatives; and faced with mercilessly irregular delivery of foodstuffs and basic staples.

As TIME magazine wrote in July 2009, "The sudden escalation with Ashraf may have more to do with a bruised Iranian regime's bid to stamp out its opponents both at home and abroad than with any pressing Iraqi national interest." Similarly in 2007, the French monthly Afrique Asie wrote, "The Iranian rulers are incredibly concerned and alarmed" about "peoples' support for the PMOI. Today, the PMOI is highly capable of attracting Iranian youth born and raised after the revolution."... Read More
 

Iraqi forces continue to make life difficult for Camp Ashraf residents
Amnesty International

March 1, 2010
“On 28 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, home to about 3,500 Iranian refugees and detained 36 residents. The 36 were subsequently reported to have been tortured, including by being beaten with batons and guns. Several people needed medical treatment for their injuries.

“The Iraqi government has continued to threaten Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf with forcible removal from the camp. On 28 July Iraqi security forces raided and took over the camp, in Diyala Governorate, which houses some 3400 members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition group.

“The camp had been under US military control since 2003 until the SOFA agreement came into force at the beginning of 2009. During the raid Iraqi forces used force against the camp residents. In video footage filmed at the time, Iraqi forces could be seen deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of unarmed protesting camp residents. Further, live ammunition was used resulting in at least nine residents being shot dead. Another 36 were detained and subjected to beatings and torture. They were in poor health and staged a hunger strike against their detention and ill-treatment. The 36 remained held in al-Khalis police station, also in Diyala, although an investigative judge ordered their release. They were moved to Baghdad and only released in October after international protests.

“The Iraqi government reportedly wanted to move Camp Ashraf residents to another camp in southern Iraq and gave the residents an ultimatum to move by 15 December 2009 or they would be moved by force. However, by late February 2010 no forced removal had taken place, although Iraqi security forces continue to make life difficult for the residents.”

Tehran is Directing Vicious Siege on Camp Ashraf by Proxy
American Chronicle
February 27, 2010
By Majid Roshan, U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents
The sharp rise in the already appalling human rights violations after the explosion of popular anti-government uprisings in Iran has brought the world´s outrage against the ruling religious tyranny. The mullahs´ reign of terror has been dealt a lethal jolt and there is no end in sight for the widening factional fissures and purges at the top. The unprecedented suppression of pro-democracy Iranians, however, has extended beyond Iran borders to Iraq, targeting, by proxy, the 3,400 Iranian dissidents living at Camp Ashraf…

An extensive ban on medical care and supplies has now given way to one of the most critical problems at Ashraf. Many residents are suffering from incurable diseases and a large number of those wounded during the July raid are enduring permanent injuries. Iraqi forces, acting on orders from the Committee for the Closure of Ashraf at the Prime Minister's Office, have prevented specialist doctors from visiting the camp. As a result many cases can no longer be cured. A number of patients are on the verge of losing their vision and several female residents are suffering from cancer. Compounding the medical crisis is the ban on fuel delivery to Ashraf in recent months. Moreover, food supplies are only allowed in following lengthy inspections, by the end of which the food ends up rotting.
 

Iraqi Shiite cleric: Camp Ashraf residents are Protected Persons based on Geneva Convention
NCRI Website

February 27, 2010
NCRI - Dr. Ayad Jamal al-Din, a distinguished Shiite cleric, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Iraqi Parliament and leader of Ahrar party, said that Ashraf residents in Iraq are Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and their displacement is prohibited.  Excerpts of interview with Alsumaria TV on February 27:

Host: You support the presence of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Iraq, but there is another opinion which says we have the right to ask them to leave Iraq. Why do you want them to stay in Iraq?

Jamal al-Din: This matter can be examined from two aspects. One is the legal aspect, PMOI and Camp Ashraf are recognized as Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Because they are civilians we must protect them. They are civilians because they are not armed. So the legal aspect of the issue prohibits their forcible displacement. It means they cannot be forcibly moved from Diyala province or Khalis. International law prohibits their displacement... Read More
 

Fifteen rights organization call on Iraq to end unjust siege of Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website

February 27, 2010

NCRI - In a joint statement, fifteen organizations in defense of human rights and international law from various Arabic countries strongly condemned measures taken by the Iraqi authorities against the residents of Camp Ashraf.

"The organizations strongly condemn and are profoundly concerned about repressive measures taken by the Iraqi authorities against the residents of Camp Ashraf. Located about 60 km north of Baghdad, the camp is home to some 3,500 Iranian refugees, largely members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq [PMOI/MEK] and their families," the statement said, noting that “the Iraqi authorities have been increasing pressure on camp residents for more than a year, ultimately aimed at expelling them from Iraq by making their continued presence in the country 'intolerable,' according to one prominent Iraqi security official.”

The organizations called on the Iraqi authorities to immediately end the unjust siege on the camp’s residents and to suspend any measures that may endanger their lives. In particular, the Iraqi authorities are required to abstain from measures that would lead to the expulsion or forced repatriation of camp residents to Iran.

"The Iraqi authorities are also obligated to allow human rights observers to enter Camp Ashraf and assess the humanitarian situation," the statement said... Read More
 

As uprising in Iran continues, the siege on PMOI members in Iraq's Camp Ashraf intensifies
Family Security Matters

February 24, 2010
By Shahriar Kia (FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Shahriar Kia is a member of the PMOI in Ashraf.)
The Iraqi government recently has intensified its cruel and inhumane siege on members of the Iranian opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) in Camp Ashraf, an Iranian refugee camp located in Iraq. The Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) has dispatched a number of its agents under the cover of families of Ashraf residents and are setting the stage for media shows.*** Meanwhile, new criminal acts by the Iraqi committee to suppress the camp's residents are being perpetrated under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s control to serve the religious fascism ruling Iran in the run-up to the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

This is combined with the denial of basic needs such as fuel and foodstuffs to Ashraf by the Iraqis. The residents are currently facing acute shortages of fuel, and Iraqi forces have also been obstructing consignments of rice, flower, hygiene items and other basic needs from being delivered to Ashraf since February 16th. Currently, there are over 150 patients in Ashraf who are in need of urgent surgery but there is no possibility for that. Some residents suffer from cancer and are in serious condition, but there are no necessary medical services available to them. Additionally, more than 75 members of the Ashraf residents’ families, who had come to Ashraf during recent years to see their loved ones, or those who have relatives in Ashraf, have been arrested in Iran and some of them have been sentenced to death... Read More

Iran: A relative of Camp Ashraf residents had a heart attack in Gohardasht prison
February  23, 2010
NCRI Press Release
NCRI - Ms. Zahra Asadpour Gorji (Joushan), 52, a political prison held in women’s ward of Karaj’s Gohardasht prison, has suffered from a heart attack due to appalling prison conditions and pressures exerted by the regime’s henchmen at the prison. She had already had an operation on her heart. She is in critical state.

Ms. Asadpour was arrested on December 7, 2009, during a raid by suppressive forces on her residence. Before that, she was imprisoned for 16 months alongside her daughter, Fatemeh Joushan, for visiting her child in Ashraf City. Her son, Reza Joushan, 25, who is also imprisoned, suffers from severe asthma and leg pains. He was arrested on December 1 and has been placed under cruel physical and psychological tortures.... Read More

Iran: Pressure and torture mounts on detained relatives of Camp Ashraf residents
February  23, 2010
NCRI Press Release
NCRI - The clerical regime has intensified pressures on a number of political prisoners arrested for either having family contacts with or visiting the residents of Camp Ashraf.

There has been no information about Majid Rezai, a 50-year-old political prisoner, since he arrest on December 31, 2009. Mr. Rezai was detained on charges of the presence of his child and brother in Ashraf and sent to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. He is a former political prisoner of the 1980s, who suffers from a variety of illnesses after going through 10 years of imprisonment.

On Wednesday, February 10, two members of the Nabavi family, Ms. Mehri Nabavi and Mr. Zia Nabavi, were also arrested after a raid by clerical regime’s intelligence agents on their residences in the cities of Qom and Semnan, respectively. Seven other members of the Nabavi family were arrested prior to that and are being held at Evin, Gohardasht and Semnan prisons.... Read More
 

Iraqi Christian Democratic Party condemns pressures on residents of Camp Ashraf
February  23, 2010
NCRI Website
NCRI - In a written declaration, the Iraqi Christian Democratic Party, denounced pressures by the Iranian regime against the residents of Camp Ashraf as inhumane acts. Below is the text of declaration by the Iraqi Christian Democratic Party:

A number of agents of the Iranian regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, under the guise of families of Ashraf residents, were brought to the entrance of the Camp. The conspiracy against Ashraf is a clear sign of the fear the Iranian regime and their collaborators in Iraq have of the outcome of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq. We condemn this inhumane act.

Iraqis being proud of their own culture and customs and Arabic ethics have at no point in their history treated their guests in such a manner. Unfortunately, the Iraqi government in concert with those collaborating with at the Iranian regime's MOIS has committed such disgraceful actions.

We strongly condemn these criminal acts and hereby ask all international organizations not to allow such crimes be committed in the name of Iraqi people against the residents of Ashraf.... Read More
 

Iraqi MP condemns joint plots of Iranian regime and Iraqi committee against Ashraf
February  22, 2010
NCRI Website
NCRI - Dr. Ahmad al-Alvani, a member of Iraqi parliament, condemned the joint conspiracy of Iranian regime's Ministry of Information Security and the Iraqi committee in charge of Ashraf, against the camps' residents.

Mr. al-Alvani urged the Iraqi government to live up to its international obligations towards the protection of residents of Ashraf.

Dr. al-Alvani said in a press remarks: "The unjust pressures which have been exerted on the 3400 residents of Camp Ashraf, is in fact a psychological war game that is being waged by the Iranian regime with the cooperation of Iraqi authorities”.

Mr. al-Alvani added: "on Tuesday February 16 an attack was staged against the defenseless and unarmed residents of the camp. Eements of the Iranian regime in coordination with Iraqi government forces attacked the camp by breaking the main gate and entering the camp. After breaking the main gate, they started to threaten and intimidate the unarmed residents." .... Read More
 

British MPs condemn Nuri Maliki's actions against Camp Ashraf
February  21, 2010
NCRI Website
“The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom urges the US and UN authorities in Iraq to take urgent measures to guarantee the security of the Camp Ashraf residents and safeguard their human rights.

The Committee calls on Iraq to lift its unlawful ban on visitors and basic commodities such as food, fuel and medicine entering the camp.”.... Read More
 

Siege on Camp Ashraf intensifies, entry of food and fuel prevented
February  20, 2010
NCRI Press Release
NCRI - While agents of the clerical regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security are being dispatched to Camp Ashraf under the cover of family members of Ashraf residents, the Iraqi committee responsible for suppression of the residents, under the instructions of Nouri al-Maliki, has intensified cruel and inhumane siege on Ashraf.

Sending the agents to Ashraf is part of the regime’s psychological war on the residents in order to increase pressure on them. This is combined with obstruction of entry of basic needs such as fuel and food stuff to Ashraf by the Iraqis as part of their siege on Ashraf. The residents are currently facing acute shortage of fuel.

In the past five months, following widespread international protests, the Iraqi committee only allowed fuel delivery to Ashraf once to cover one week’s fuel requirement of the Camp. Currently, a number of fuel tankers that had been paid for by the residents have been waiting for over two weeks to be allowed into the Camp.... Read More
 

Canadian Iran committee: End siege of Camp Ashraf and suppressive measures against its residents
February  19, 2010
NCRI Website
“Pre-arranged media shows cannot hide the fact that Ashraf residents have been denied their fundamental rights in the past 14 months due to severe inhuman siege of the Camp.

“We call upon the US, the EU, the United Nations Secretary General and the Canadian Government to immediately intervene to end the siege of Ashraf and hold Al-Maliki accountable for denial of food, medicine, and humanitarian needs of the Camp residents.”.... Read More
 

This beacon of hope must be saved for all who have justice
The Universe

February 14, 2010

Wednesday, 17 February 2010
By David Alton
Today, there are millions of Iranians living in exile around the world waiting for and working towards a time when it will be safe to return home. The country has been on the cusp of a new revolution for months – as opposition to the regime has been ruthlessly crushed.

Many of the exiles living abroad and yearning to return to a new Iran were students and intellectuals who individually and in small groups had opposed the Shah’s oppressive regime and sought to bring freedom and democracy to Iran. Instead, after the Shah left in 1979, they found their country falling into the grip of an even more repressive and dangerous regime. Over 120,000 have been executed by the regime in the 30 years since they came to power and many more have been and still are imprisoned and tortured on a daily basis. The various opposition groups, of which the largest is the People’s Mojahedin of Iran(PMOI/MEK), which formed the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI) and elected a President elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, an inspirational leader currently living and working tirelessly from France for a free and democratic Iran. She is one of the great women in the world. Anyone who has met her knows that she could offer Iranians the hope which is in such short supply in their benighted country.

Some of the exiles set up home in Iraq in a city called Ashraf 60 miles North East of Baghdad, which is now home to around 3,500 citizens. Here Iranian Kurds, Christians, Shia and Sunni Muslims live together, demonstrating the harmonious and productive possibilities of secular democracy and gender equality.... Read More
 

Suppressive act against Ashraf residents, a new criminal ploy by al-Maliki before elections
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Statement no. 6
Maryam Rajavi calls on UN and US to end siege on Ashraf, holding al-Maliki accountable for any crisis and incident
NCRI - Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, described the preposterous and suppressive show by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and dispatch of a number of its agents under the cover of families of Ashraf residents to Iraq and setting up the stage for media shows as new criminal acts by the Iraqi committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf residents under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s control to serve the religious fascism ruling Iran in the run-up to the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

Al-Maliki and his partners who have been functioning as a branch of the clerical regime’s Council of Guardians for the elections in Iraq by disqualifying candidates opposed to the domination of Ali Khamenei, mullahs’ Supreme Leader, and the terrorist Qods force over Iraq, are now facing Iraqi people’s outrage and hatred and international condemnation. In these circumstances, they are now trying to create a crisis to prepare the grounds for new suppressive measures on Ashraf at the behest of the Iranian regime. This is indeed what the regime needs in the midst of the nationwide uprising... Read More

Preposterous show by Iran regime's intelligence and Iraqi committee responsible for Ashraf
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Statement no. 5
Preposterous and suppressive show by mullahs’ intelligence and Iraqi committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf
NCRI - It is nine days since the clerical regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Iraqi committee in charge of suppression of Ashraf residents, in a joint project, have stationed outside Camp Ashraf a number of MOIS agents under the cover of families of Ashraf residents from various Iranian cities in order to create chaos and crisis and put the residents under psychological torture. Through its theatrics, the Government of Iraq has asked a group of reporters to go to Ashraf to meet with the agents in order to pretend as if the PMOI is preventing Ashraf residents from meeting their relatives.

This is while the Iraqi forces have been preventing for the past 14 months the entry of reporters who wished to visit Ashraf. The Iraqi forces have not given permission to any reporter to go to Ashraf other than some selected reporters to prepare reports of the ridiculous theatrics like what is going on outside Camp Ashraf these days... Read More

Iranian resistance draws UN and U.S. attention to foul plots against Ashraf by Iran regime
Monday, 15 February 2010
Statement no. 4

Dispatch of the third group of families to Ashraf by the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence
NCRI - The Iranian Resistance draws the attention of the United Nations Secretary General, Special Representative of the Secretary General, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the United States Government and the American forces in Iraq to an extensive conspiracy by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) against the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

In a ridiculous and revolting show, the MOIS in coordination with the Iraqi embassy in Tehran on one hand and the Iranian embassy in Baghdad cooperating with the Iraqi committee in charge of suppression of Ashraf residents on the other, dispatch a number of relatives of a few Ashraf residents to Iraq. Then, these relatives who are in contact with the MOIS and trusted by the regime’s intelligence are taken to Ashraf. When they arrive at the entrance of Ashraf, the Iraqi committee prevents them from going inside the Camp. While outside the Camp, they create a situation to pretend as if the PMOI is preventing Ashraf residents from meeting their relatives... Read More
 

Iran: Mullahs' dispatches a new group of families to Iraq and prevents them entering Camp Ashraf
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Statement no. 3
Iranian regime’s ploys to create crisis in Ashraf
NCRI - Simultaneous with the nationwide uprising against the regime in Iran on February 11, the clerical regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) dispatched a new group of nine members of families of Ashraf residents to Iraq. They were sent from Western Azarbaijan province as part of the regime’s efforts to create crisis in Camp Ashraf. The group was taken to Ashraf by the Iraqi committee responsible for suppression of Ashraf residents but refused to allow the families to enter the Camp to see their children and relatives.

On Monday, February 8, another group of five family members of Ashraf residents were taken to the entrance gate of the Camp but again they were prevented from going in... Read More
 

Iraq - Iranian opposition: Iraqi committee for suppression of Ashraf bans entry of food supplies
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Statement no. 2

Iranian regime’s Intelligence Ministry sends families of Ashraf residents to Camp Ashraf where they are prevented entry by Iraqis
NCRI - Prior to the expected nationwide uprising of the Iranian people on February 11, the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Iraqi committee in charge of suppression of Ashraf have once again resorted to repulsive and recurring theatrics to instigate crises against Ashraf and suppress its residents.

After a number of families of Ashraf residents were sent to Iraq by the regime’s MOIS, the aforementioned Iraqi committee refused to grant them entry into the camp and has since last night prevented delivery of food supplies to the residents. The committee’s officials explicitly admit that the pressures aim to force Ashraf residents to meet with their families sent by the MOIS outside camp premises. They have said the entry of food is contingent on the residents’ acquiescence to fulfill this demand... Read More
 

Ploys of Iran regime's intelligence and Iraqi suppressive committee against Ashraf
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Families of Ashraf residents dispatched to Iraq by mullahs’ intelligence but prevented from entering the Camp
NCRI - On the eve of the February 11 massive nationwide uprising, while the Iranian regime remains helpless in confronting the uprising, and while the kangaroo courts sentence families of Ashraf residents to death as mohareb (enemy of God) only because they visited their relatives in the Camp, the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) with the help of the Iraqi committee tasked with suppression of Ashraf resorted to yet another ridiculous and repetitive ploy planned to increase pressure on Ashraf residents by playing around with their family affections.

On Monday, February 8, a group of five families of Ashraf residents, who had been transferred to Iraq by the MOIS, were taken by the Iraqi committee from Baghdad to the entry gates of Ashraf. The Iraqi forces informed the residents of Ashraf that the family members of the residents wish to see them. But the committee had instructed that the families are not allowed to go inside the Camp and family visits should take place outside Ashraf. The aim of such moves is to wage psychological war and prepare the grounds for suppression of Ashraf residents... Read More

Iran: Families of Ashraf residents arrested and given heavy sentences
NCRI Press Release

Saturday, 23 January 2010
NCRI - In fear of spread and deepening nationwide uprising, Iranian regime has intensified pressure on relatives and members of families of Camp Ashraf residents and continues to arrest many more of them.

The clerical regime recently arrested three other relatives of residents of Camp Ashraf; Aliasghar Nabavi, Reza Gholizadeh, Hanif Hosseindoust. Three of those previously detained were sentenced to heavy prison terms; Seyyed Zia Nabavi, Monireh Rabi’i, Hassan Tarlani.

Aliasghar Nabavi, 25, resident of Ghaemshahr (northern Iran) was arrested on January 7 only for having relatives in Camp Ashraf. Reza Gholizadeh, Mr. Nabavi's brother-in-law, was arrested on January 8. Five other members of this family are currently imprisoned in cities of Karaj (central Iran), Semnan (northern Iran) and Tehran: Tayabeh Nabavi, Atefeh Nabavi, Fatemeh Nabavi, Seyyed Jalal Nabavi, Alireza Nabavi. Mr. Seyyed Zia Nabavi, another member of this family, has been charged with "association and collaboration to disturb national security, propaganda against the system, disturbing public order, creating anxiety in public," and cooperation with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).... Read More
 

Interview with Camp Ashraf resident about arrest of 70 year old father
NCRI Website

Thursday, 21 January 2010
NCRI - On Tuesday, Voice of America’s Persian Service aired an interview with a resident of Camp Ashraf, whose father was arrested two weeks ago by the Iranian regime. The father, Ali Mehrnia, 70, was also a political prisoner during the 1980s. He is now one of dozens of families and relatives of Camp Ashraf residents who have been arrested in an attempt by the clerical regime in Iran to put pressure on the residents of Ashraf.

Located northeast of Baghdad, Camp Ashraf has been home to about 3,400 members of Iran’s main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), for more than two decades.

Below is the translation of excerpts of VOA’s interview with Majid Mehrnia.

VOA: As far as you know, why have they arrested your father [Ali Mehrnia]? Where has he been taken? And, have you been able to receive any information about his situation?

Mehrnia: About two weeks ago, a little after the Ashura day [December 27] uprising, [Iranian regime agents] raided our house in Tehran and arrested my 70 year old father, who is a retired teacher. They took him to an undisclosed location without citing any reasons for doing so. … They also took my mother after a while for interrogation and to impose pressure on her, despite the fact that her physical condition, too, was rapidly deteriorating. No matter how many times my family has tried to contact them or attempted to follow up [on the arrest], they have not yet been able to receive any answers. My family has been told that they should now stop making further inquiries.... Read More
 

Iraqi government committee preventing entry of fuel to Ashraf
International call to lift siege on Ashraf residents
NCRI Press Release

Monday, January 18, 2010
NCRI - Over the past three months, the Iraqi committee at the Prime Minister’s Office tasked with suppression of Camp Ashraf residents has prevented entry of fuel supplies to the Camp. This inhumane siege has triggered numerous difficulties for the residents particularly in the cold winter months.

On November 4, 2009, the drivers of two oil tankers, which were delivering fuel purchased by Ashraf residents to the Camp, were arrested by Iraqi forces on charges of delivering fuel to the residents. Their tankers were confiscated and taken to the police station in the nearby city of Khalis. After 20 days of detention, a judge ordered the drivers’ release.

Since 2003, in accordance with a fuel rationing scheme for Iraqi citizens, Ashraf residents had a monthly quota for fuel and other products from the Iraqi Oil Ministry. They paid for and received their quota on a monthly basis... Read More
 

PMOI's place on the terrorist watch list
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran should be cleared
The Washington Times (EDITORIAL)
January 12, 2010
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit hears the case of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran v. United States Department of State. The State Department says the PMOI is a terrorist organization. The PMOI says the United States is falling for Iranian propaganda.

The PMOI was founded in 1963 as a violent anti-Shah movement. It supported the revolution that brought the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power, who returned the favor by executing the group's leaders. Many members sought refuge in Iraq, and for years Saddam Hussein gave them safe haven to conduct anti-Iranian terror attacks.

The group renounced violence in 2001, and it has not engaged in terrorism since. A U.S. Intelligence Community Terrorist Threat Assessment acknowledged that there "has not been a confirmed terrorist attack by [the PMOI] since the organization surrendered to Coalition forces in 2003."

The PMOI has assisted the United States in Iraq by warning Coalition troops against planned attacks by Iraqi insurgents. The PMOI also has provided critical information on Iran's secret nuclear program, such as the first reports of hidden facilities at Qom and Natanz. These revelations were at first viewed skeptically, given the flawed information that Iraqi emigre groups provided about Saddam Hussein's program to develop weapons of mass destruction. But Frank Pabian, a senior adviser on nuclear nonproliferation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, stated that the PMOI is "right 90 percent of the time."

Removing the PMOI from the list of foreign terrorist organizations is one of the few issues on which both parties in Congress agree. No doubt, the same type of bureaucratic inertia is at work on this matter as that which kept South African President Nelson Mandela on a terrorist watch list until 2008...

For the past year, the Obama administration has been trying to reach out to the regime in Tehran and been brusquely rebuffed. It is a good time to send the Islamic regime a new signal. Taking the PMOI off the terror list acknowledges that the group has put violence behind them, creates a credible incentive for other terror groups that might desire to reform their ways, and removes a tool from the hands of a theocratic regime bent on terrorizing its own people... Read More
 

End blacklisting of Iranian patriots
People's Mujahedin "terrorist" designation was always about politics
By Struan Stevenson
The Washington Times
January 12, 2010
Back in 1997, the United States and its Western allies thought they saw an opportunity for their first meaningful dialogue with Iran since the 1979 revolution. In the newly elected president, Mohammad Khatami, they saw someone whom they could deal with, a man who could bring about change from within the established system.

But the mullahs who ruled in Tehran had a price - the West had to blacklist the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) by adding it to the list of "terrorist" organizations. It seemed like a small price to pay in the world of realpolitik.  Anyway, that was then - and this is now.

Never mind that the "moderate" Iranian government never lived up to that billing, or that the mullahs went ahead with their nuclear ambitions laughing all the way to the acquisition of fissionable material, or that the "moderate" Mr. Khatami gave way to the bellicose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The major fact is that big changes are taking place in Iran - changes that the hard liners in Tehran no longer are able to stop and that the Obama administration had better wake up to...

Indeed, through its extensive network and popular support inside Iran, the PMOI has been an important asset by revealing Tehran's clandestine nuclear weapons program over the years; revelations which nuclear experts believe has been correct 90 percent of the time. Scores of European diplomats engaged in negotiations with Tehran have acknowledged that Iranian officials have urged a crackdown on the PMOI in negotiations with Western governments over the nuclear program and other issues.

The PMOI is more than a thorn on the side of the clerical regime and that's why the mullahs prevailed on their friends in Baghdad to try to wipe out Camp Ashraf in July - but that effort failed.

The blacklisting of Tehran's opponents has been an unwarranted gift to the mullah's regime. It has provided Tehran with not only an excuse to further suppress its opponents at home but also to violate the most rudimentary human rights of millions of Iranians throughout the nation. Indeed, anyone even charged with sympathizing with the PMOI is view as a Mohareb, or some one who wages war of God and must be punished by death.

So what is the point of doing Tehran's biding against its opposition particularly when things are so fluid in Iran? This is intervening in Iran's internal affairs in favor of the mullahs - and now realpolitik dictates this has to be changed... Read More
 

Call on UN for Camp Ashraf resident's stolen property
NCRI Press Release

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
NCRI - Almost six months after criminal attacks on Camp Ashraf on July 28 and 29, 2009, the Iraqi forces still refuse to return stolen vehicles and properties of Ashraf residents.

The Iraqi forces killed 11 members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), disabled 130, wounded some 370 others and severely beat 1,000 residents. The assailants also abducted 36 residents and held them as hostages. In addition to all these, they have confiscated properties of Ashraf residents worth a total of $2,537,000 that includes 39 vehicles among them some fuel and water tankers worth $1,177,000. These are held in an area within Ashraf under the Iraqi police control.

The inhabitants of Ashraf are currently under an inhumane siege. They have appealed a number of times to have their properties returned, especially the tankers and minibuses that are needed everyday but the Iraqi Prime Ministry committee responsible for closure of Ashraf has refused. In the past six months many of the vehicles kept under adverse weather conditions have been damaged and many of their parts stolen.

While reminding the Articles 52-53 of The Hague Conventions and Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention; and emphasizing the fact that denial of Ashraf residents of their rights to their properties is a clear violation of international law and the fundamental rights specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), the UN Security Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNSG's Special Representative for Iraq and UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq) to take immediate measures for return of confiscated and stolen properties of Ashraf residents... Read More
 

Iran: Arrest of PMOI supporters and families of Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Press Release

Friday, January 8, 2010
NCRI - Iranian regime has arrested a number of supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and families of Camp Ashraf residents subjecting them to pressures...

The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations Secretary General, UN Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other human rights organizations to condemn arrests and torture in prisons in Iran and take urgent measures for the release of detainees who are currently kept under inhuman conditions... Read More

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