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In this Issue:
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US Congressman Lacy Clay draws attention to Camp
Ashraf residents,
NCRI website,
May 17,
2009
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Iraqi committee expresses
solidarity with Camp Ashraf residents,
NCRI website,
May 24, 2009
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Arrest, torture and pressure against families
of Camp Ashraf residents,
NCRI Press Release,
May 25, 2009
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Three years of prison for visiting family
member in Camp Ashraf,
NCRI Website, May 20,
2009
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56 year-old mother sentenced to 5 years of
prison,
NCRI Website, May 16,
2009
-
Canadian Rights Activists: Violation of
rights of Camp Ashraf residents must end,
NCRI Website, May 16,
2009
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"Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs.”
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
“In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred to a country where
he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her political opinions
or religious beliefs.”
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
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US Congressman Lacy Clay
draws attention to Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Website
May 17, 2009
NCRI – The US congressman, Hon. William. Lacy Clay of Missouri, in a speech
at the House of Representatives on Thursday, May 14, 2009 drew the attention of
his colleagues to the recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament on
the rights of residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq... Report by the Congressional
Record, May 14, 2009, follows:
Mr. CLAY: Madam Speaker, as we endeavor to end the war in Iraq, and to prevent
any further military action in that region, I want to call attention to a
resolution adopted by the European parliament on April 24, 2009. This resolution
addresses Camp Ashraf which is located in Iraq about 50 miles from the Iranian
border.
Approximately 3,000 Iranian exiles are now residing at the Camp; these
individuals have not been involved in the war and signed agreements with the
U.S.-led Multi-National Force regarding their status in accordance with
International Humanitarian Law.
Unfortunately, Iraqi officials have allowed the Iranian clerical regime to
pressure those residing at Camp Ashraf and human rights organizations, such as
Amnesty International, have expressed concern for their safety and well being.
The European Parliament resolution urges the Iraqi government to uphold the
human rights of those living at Camp Ashraf. I share this sentiment and urge my
colleagues to review the full text of the resolution enacted by the European
Parliament...
Read
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Iraqi committee expresses solidarity with Camp Ashraf
residents
NCRI Website
May 24, 2009
NCRI - The Iraqi Committee in Defense of Ashraf, which is made up of Iraqi
political and tribal figures, lawmakers, and academics, released a statement
expressing solidarity with the residents of Ashraf, an Iraqi news website
reported on May 22...
In its statement, the committee referred to a European Parliament resolution
passed in support of Ashraf on April 24, describing it as an exemplary
international declaration in legal and humanitarian relations with Ashraf, and
called on the Iraqi government to implement the articles therein. The following
is part of the text of the committee’s statement, published by the Iraqi News
Agency:
“In its plenary session in Strasbourg on April 24, 2009, the European Parliament
unanimously passed an important resolution calling for the guaranteeing of
Ashraf’s protection, prohibition on any sort of displacement of Ashraf
residents, and ensuring all of their rights in accordance with the Fourth Geneva
Convention and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
The adoption of this resolution was a victory for justice and rule of law, and
an important human rights feat, neutralizing the plots and preparations aimed at
triggering the occurrence of a human catastrophe. This motion demonstrated that
the international community is not prepared to bow to the religious fascism’s
blackmail to violate the rights of defenseless individuals using hollow
justifications. This resolution also provided the international community with
an acceptable precedent to respect law, justice, and humanitarian values.
We, the Iraqi Committee in Defense of Ashraf, join the European Parliament,
which represents more than 500 million people of that continent, and also join
millions of honorable Iraqis, in urging the Iraqi government to respect this
resolution, take practical steps in implementing its articles, and end the siege
on Ashraf residents.
The Iraqi Committee in Defense of Ashraf needs the help of all freedom-loving
and honorable people to obtain this humanitarian objective, and through this
humanitarian call, we ask everyone to help the residents of Ashraf.”...
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Arrest, torture and pressure
against families of Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Press Release
May 25, 2009
Shamsoddin Mehdizadeh, 60, father of three Ashraf residents, has been
arrested along with his daughter, son-in-law, and their 3-month-old baby
NCRI - According to reports from Iran, on May 13, 2009, agents of the mullahs’
Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) raided the house of Mr. Shamsoddin
Mehdizadeh, 60, father of three residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. During the
raid, MOIS agents confiscated his personal belongings and arrested him. Also
arrested on that day during the attacks were Mr. Mehdizadeh’s daughter, Monir,
her husband, Mr. Ali Afshani, and the couple’s 3-month-old baby, Amirhessam.
They were all taken to an undisclosed location and the family’s attempts to
discover their whereabouts have not been successful.
It should be reminded that the fate of other relatives of Ashraf residents, who
were arrested and taken to the notorious Ward 209 of Evin prison on February 20,
2009, after MOIS agents violently raided their houses in Tehran, also remains
unknown. Despite the passing of three months since their arrest, a period marked
by constant psychological and physical torture, the status of all those
arrested, including Ms. Fatemeh (Houri) Ziai, Ms. Mahsa Naderi, and Messrs Hamed
Yazarlou, Ehsan Erfani, and Mohsen Tarlani, remains unresolved. Mohsen Naderi,
Ms. Mahsa Naderi’s father, is being interrogated in Ward 8 of Evin prison by one
of the regime’s henchmen identified as Sheikhan.
Mr. Hamed Yazarlou’s brother, Hood Yazarlou, a 21-year-old student who was
sentenced to three years in prison for going to Ashraf to visit his relatives,
was transferred on May 23 to a ward allocated to dangerous prisoners in the
Gohardasht prison in Karaj (western Tehran). His mother, Ms. Nazila Dashti, 49,
has also been imprisoned at Evin prison on similar charges.
Separately, the mullahs’ Judiciary has issued unjust rulings against other
arrested relatives of Ashraf residents, thereby placing more pressure on them.
On May 11, Ms. Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi, a 56-year-old mother, was sentenced to
5 years in prison on charges of acting against national security and conducting
activities in support of the the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran
(PMOI/MEK). Ms. Sedigheh Falahatnezhad, has also been sentenced to 8 years in
prison on similar charges.
Ms. Amirkhizi and Ms. Falahatnezhad are some of the Ashraf residents’ relatives,
who despite having official passports and visas, planned to travel to Iraq to
visit their families in Ashraf, but were arrested on January 16 along with 18
others at the Tehran airport after MOIS agents attacked and beat them,
eventually transferring them to Ward 209 of Evin. These prisoners have been
subjected to continuing psychological and physical torture. Ms. Amirkhizi is on
the brink of losing sight in one of her eyes due to the imposed strains...
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Three years of prison for visiting family member in Camp
Ashraf
NCRI Website
May 20, 2009
NCRI- Mrs. Nazila Dashti, was sentenced to three years in prison in Iran only
for visiting her sister in Ashraf City [Camp Asharf] after 25 years, said her
husband, Dr. Hani Yazarlou in an Interview with Persian language Voice of
America TV channel on Monday.
Hamed and Hood, two sons of Mr. Yazarlou are currently in jail in Iran. “We have
not heard about my elder son, Hamed, since he was arrested on February 20 and
his family have not been allowed to contact him,” Dr. Yazarlou said. “ There are
still no reports about his condition,” he added.
“On February 20, When they took them [Hood and her mother] I asked the agents
why they were taking them, agents replied, ‘do not know, we were told to arrest
them’,” Mr. Yazarlou said.
Mr. Hamed Yazarlou, an aeronautics and space engineering student, although was
accepted by Amir Kabir University to do his PhD, he had been banned two years in
a row from continuing his studies.
Hood was previously sentenced to three years of prison by the Iranian regime’s
judiciary and is currently in ward 8 of Evin Prison...
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56 year-old mother sentenced to 5 years of prison
NCRI Website
May 16, 2009
NCRI - According to reports from the women's ward in Evin prison, Kobra
Banazadeh Amirkhizi, 56, was sentenced to five years of prison and exile to
Gohardasht Prison in Karaj by the 28th branch of the mullahs’ judiciary.
Ms. Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi, who had suffered from bleeding in one of her
eyes, is in serious danger of losing her eyesight. She had been denied medical
treatment in Evin prison.
Ms. Amirkhizi, from a distinguished family in Tehran that has had a number of
its members executed by the mullahs’ regime, is mother to a resident of Camp
Ashraf in Iraq, where some 3,500 members of the main Iranian opposition group,
the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
She was sentenced on May 11 by Moqseyi aka Naserian in the 28th branch of the
so-called Revolutionary Court. Naserian was a member of the "death committee"
responsible for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.
Ms. Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi was among family members of Ashraf residents who
on Friday afternoon, January 16, 2009, were arrested at Tehran airport on their
way to Iraq to visit their relatives in Ashraf. The majority of those arrested
were women between 60 to 80 years of age, and have been violently beaten by
agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
The arrested families were placed in solitary confinement in Evin prison. Their
homes also were raided and searched by the regime’s suppressive forces. Their
belongings were seized and even their children were threatened by armed men...
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Canadian Rights Activists: Violation of rights of
Camp Ashraf residents must end
NCRI Website
May 16 2009
NCRI - Hon. David Kilgour, former Canadian minister and human rights activist,
said on Thursday in Geneva: “The human rights violations against Camp Ashraf
residents must stop immediately.” David Matas, the renowned Canadian lawyer,
said that we were determined to prevent human rights violations against
residents of Ashraf with the assistance of international human rights
organizations.
Camp Ashraf located northeast of Baghdad is home to 3,500 members of the main
Iranian opposition, The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK/PMOI). In
recent months, the Iranian regime has pressured Iraqi officials to expel Ashraf
residents.
Hon. Kilgour and Matas spoke in a rally by Iranian exiles across from the United
Nations European Headquarters in Geneva on Thursday. The protesters, a number of
them with relatives in camp Ashraf called on the Iraqi government to respect the
rights of camp residents in accordance with international conventions.
David Kilgour defended the legal rights of Ashraf residents and referred to
opinion presented by the renowned British Jurist, Michael Wood and said that
Displacement of Camp Ashraf residents was illegal. He added that their forced
displacement violated the Article 7 of statute of the International Criminal
Court.
In his speech, David Matas reiterated the dangers faced by Ashraf residents. He
said that a number of international organizations were dealing with this problem
and he together with his colleagues were working closely with them to put an end
to the violations of rights of Ashraf residents...
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Iranian Dissidents and their Families In Camp Ashraf
Nearly 3,500 members of Iran’s
main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), residing in Camp Ashraf in
Iraq, are faced with a humanitarian crisis.
Tehran has put the Iraqi
government under tremendous pressure to take over the protection of Camp Ashraf
from the US-led Multinational Force-Iraq. Under current circumstance in
Iraq, such action would be in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and
International Humanitarian Law. Since 2004, Ashraf residents have been formally
recognized as “Protected Persons“ under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Ashraf Residents are expatriates
holding dual nationality or refugee status of various Western countries. Their
families and relatives are greatly worried for their loved ones in Ashraf.
International Humanitarian Law Obligate U.S. to Provide Continued Protection for
Camp Ashraf Residents in Iraq
On July 2, 2004, the United States formally
recognized members of the PMOI in Camp Ashraf as “protected persons” under the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Both the U.S. and Iraq are parties to all four
1949 Geneva Conventions.
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs […]”.
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“In no circumstances shall a protected person
be transferred to a country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution
for his or her political opinions or religious beliefs.“
Under the present circumstances in Iraq, the U.S.
is the only party qualified and capable of ensuring Camp Ashraf residents’
safety and security under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The U.S. forces must
continue to protect Ashraf residents as long as US forces are in Iraq.
About
the U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents:
The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf
Residents (USCCAR) was established in December of 2003 by families and relatives
of residents of Camp Ashraf. The purpose of the Committee is to ensure the
safety and security of those Iranians and others living in Camp Ashraf. The
Committee will defend the proposition that the protections of the Fourth Geneva
Convention, as well as of other treaties and customary international law, must
be applied to the Iranians in Iraq. For more information please visit:
www.usccar.org
About
Ashraf Monitor
Ashraf Monitor newsletter is a
compilation of news and commentaries about the developing humanitarian
crisis for nearly 3,500 members of Iran's main opposition, the People's
Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Ashraf Monitor is
compiled and distributed by the US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR).
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