Camp Liberty No. 63
Simultaneous with Mr. Behrooz Rahimian’s torturous death, the cruel blockade of Liberty residents and their harassment have been escalated by transferring Major Ahmad Khuzayr and Captain Heydar Azab Mashi, two perpetrators of July 2009 and April 2011 massacres of Ashraf residents, to the camp.
1. Since April 30, 2012, security forces of the Iraqi Prime Minister office have blocked many required goods from entering Camp Liberty such as winter clothing, shirts, plastic bags and cardboard boxes used for storing food.
2. Iraqi security forces are still preventing residents from using the two forklifts owned by them. The two were finally transferred on November 28 from Ashraf to Liberty following numerous correspondence with the UN and U.S. officials. But contrary to previous agreements, Iraqi forces kept them in the police center arguing that they should only be operated by Iraqi police drivers. Since last week, and in spite of repeated requests, the residents have only been allowed one day access to the forklifts even with a police driver. This is used as a tool for physical and psychological torture of the camp residents. Carrying heavy loads with their hands and on their shoulders during previous months has caused various backache, arm ache and orthopedic diseases amongst the residents.
3. On December 24, when a vehicle filled with food entered the camp driven by representative of a contract company which had been hired by the residents, Captain Azab stopped it and turned it away.
4. Pumping water from Liberty pumping station into the camp has been delayed and faced with serious difficulties on a daily basis due of obstructions caused by the Iraqi forces. On December 24 and 25, water pumping had been stopped for four hours. Residents went to the police several times but they did nothing until all the camp’s stored water were used up. Major Ahmad Khuzayr told them on one incident to use the rain water since there would be no pumping anymore.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 26, 2012