MEK- Liberty :Council of Europe Condemns Camp Prison

The Council of Europe has issued a statement on the lack of lack of humanitarian and human rights standards in Camp Liberty and has urged the Iraqi government to implement the minimum guarantees demanded by the residents, including the removal of all armed units from the interior of the Camp. The text of the statement reads:

•          [15/03/2012]  PACE’s Political Affairs Committee has repeated its call to the Iraqi authorities to stop turning Camp Liberty – a site near Baghdad where around 800 members of an Iranian opposition group are now living – into a prison. In a statement adopted yesterday, the committee called for armed units and surveillance to be removed from the camp, as well as free movement for its residents and improved conditions, including access to medical services, lawyers and UN monitors. The complete text of the Council’s statement:

Following the statement made in January and owing to the fact that

unfortunately no improvement has been made, the Committee on Political Affairs

and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls on

the Iraqi authorities to stop turning Camp Liberty into a prison. It also calls on

the UN Secretary General to ensure the minimum guarantees required by the

camp residents.

In spite of the lack of humanitarian and human rights standards, to date, 800

Ashraf residents have been moved to Camp Liberty in order to find a peaceful

solution. But this camp is suffering from a serious shortage of drinking water and

electricity. Open sewage has made the area terribly polluted and the danger to

human health and many of the trailers are extremely badly damaged, making

them unusable. Liberty residents are not allowed to leave the camp. They have

no direct access to medical services nor to lawyers. There is a police station and

nearly 150 armed Iraqi forces equipped with machine guns in this very limited

area of half a square kilometre in which 3400 people have to live. Several

surveillance cameras and eavesdropping devices have been installed in the

camp, the output of which has been passed to the Iranian authorities to threaten

the residents and their families.

The Committee urges the Iraqi government to implement the minimum

guarantees demanded by the residents, including the removal of all armed units,

surveillance cameras and eavesdropping devices from the camp; resolving the

infrastructure problem, particularly regarding water, electricity and sewage;

providing direct access to medical services, lawyers and UN monitors; allowing

free movement or at least increasing the camp area; and providing the security

of all residents until they leave Iraq preventing the arrest of even one resident.

We call on Council of Europe member and observer states to respond positively

and rapidly to resettlement demands of Liberty and Ashraf residents.

• Increasing police stations in Liberty and bringing them closer to residential areas

In the afternoon of Monday March 12 and the morning of Tuesday March 13, Iraqi armed forces opened up a 5-meter wide section of Camp Liberty wall and stationed police forces there. These points are at 10-meter distance from living and rest area of the residents. Therefore the number of police posts have been increased to seven. This is a clear threat to the residents and paves the way for attacking the residents.

Earlier on February 27^th, residents of Ashraf and Liberty in separate letters signed by all of the residents to UN Secretary General, his Special Representative and the US Secretary of State had stated their minimum assurances for the transfer of the remaining residents from Ashraf to Liberty, the most important of which was the withdrawal of police and Iraqi armed forces from Liberty 

 

After relocation of 400 Ashraf residents to Liberty Camp, UNAMI has responsibility for their well being and must guarantee the free access of journali

Press Release 18 February 2012

Upon the request of the Iranian opposition leader, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, 400 members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran at Camp Ashraf have moved to Camp Liberty today. According to many independent observers, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, without freedom of movement, free access to medical services, ability to meet lawyers and without the Iraqi armed forces leaving Camp Liberty, Camp Liberty will be a prison for these 400 refugees. We commend Ashraf leadership for taking this risk and showing maximum flexibility to reach a peaceful solution to this crisis.

We are quite disturbed to hear that during the transfer, Iraqi authorities were creating problems, obstacles and panic for the residents such as preventing the residents to load some personal belongings like blankets etc. We were informed about the humiliating and inhuman treatment of the residents. They were meticulously searched by dogs and by the Iraqi forces, a process that took nearly 12 hours before they would be allowed to get into the buses.

We still believe, as my colleague Struan Stevenson, President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq has emphasized: “Clearly this transfer was unnecessary when the residents had already accepted the European Parliament's plan for relocation to third countries. They had each individually applied for asylum to the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees in August 2011 and had the Iraqi government permitted the Refugee status interview procedure to begin at that time, a significant number of them would have been relocated out of Iraq by now.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq-UNAMI has the main responsibility for the well being of the residents and must guarantee the free access of journalists, parliamentarians and lawyers. As a first step, the Iraqi police force must be moved out of the Camp; no one will be arrested under any pretext by Iraq otherwise the whole process will collapse; the residents should be permitted to take along their vehicles and their

movable property with no restrictions to Camp Liberty. The head of UNAMI, Ambassador Martin Kobler, should not keep imposing the inhuman conditions of Iraq on these defenceless refugees. We urge the UN Secretary General to consider these just criticisms and shortcomings of UNAMI.

The most urgent issue is for the UNHCR to determine the refugee status of the residents. We expect the EU Member States and the USA to help to resettle the residents as soon as possible. Since the area allocated for these refugees is very small and there is no freedom of movement, unless the police force is moved out, we strongly advice Ashraf leadership to send the next group to Liberty after these 400 are resettled in third countries.

Alejo Vidal Quadras
Vice-President of the European Parliament
President of the international committee “In Search of Justice” (ISJ)

International Committee of In Search of Justice (ISJ) enjoys the support of over 4,000 parliamentarians throughout the world

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/ashraf/11716-after-relocation-of-400-ashraf-residents-to-liberty-camp-unami-has-responsibility-for-their-well-being-and-must-guarantee-the-free-access-of-journalists-parliamentarians-and-lawyers

EU leaders call for more sanctions on Iran

By Sebastian Moffett

BRUSSELS Dec 9 (Reuters) – European Union leaders called on Friday for more sanctions against Iran by the end of January, in an effort to increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The leaders did not make an explicit call for an embargo on Iranian crude oil, which EU diplomats have been discussing this month as a way to respond to mounting concerns that the OPEC producer has worked to design a nuclear weapon.

Instead, they called on their foreign ministers to broaden existing sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans on those involved in the nuclear work. EU leaders also called on them to study “additional measures against Iran as a matter of priority and to adopt these measures no later than by its next session”, which is scheduled for Jan. 30.

The International Atomic Energy Agency last month released new evidence confirming international concerns that Iran iseeking the atom bomb. Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Last week, EU foreign ministers agreed to develop new sanctions on Iran’s energy, transport and banking sectors. Diplomats said a ban on imports of Iranian oil into Europe was under discussion.

The sanctions have had an impact on Iran’s economy, experts say, but they have not achieved their aim of stopping work that the West suspects is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Iran’s international isolation deepened after protesters stormed two British diplomatic compounds on Nov. 30, smashing windows, torching a car and burning the British flag in protest against new sanctions imposed by London.

Iran is OPEC’s number two oil producer and exports 2.6 million barrels a day, depending heavily on oil revenues.

France, backed by Germany and Britain, has led the push to ban its crude, but some states, notably Greece, have expressed reservations, because of their reliance on Iranian oil.

At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said EU governments were trying to resolve this dilemma. “We are working on these subjects to see how we can ensure that certain European countries are not penalized by an embargo on petroleum exports,” he said. (Reporting By Sebastian Moffett; editing by Mark John)

Norway Closes Iran Embassy As UK Attacked

AP - (OSLO, Norway and LONDON) — Nov. 30, 2011 - Norway has closed its embassy in Tehran due to security concerns after Britain's mission was stormed by Iranian protesters, an official said Wednesday.

Hilde Steinfeld, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Oslo, said the decision to close the embassy was taken late Tuesday, but that Norway's diplomatic staff have not been evacuated from the country. "They're still in Tehran," she said.

Steinfeld would not go into greater detail, but said "the decision follows security concerns." She added that "it is in context with the attack on the British embassy yesterday."

Norway has four to five diplomatic staff deployed in the Iranian capital, she said.

On Tuesday, protesters stormed the British embassy in what apparently began as a state-approved show of anger over the latest Western sanctions to punish Iran for defiance over its nuclear program.

The protesters took down the Union Jack, set fire to an embassy vehicle and pelted buildings with petrol bombs.

Britain says it is withdrawing some staff and dependents from its embassy in Tehran, which was stormed by Iranian protesters earlier this week.

The Foreign Office refused to say Wednesday how many people were being removed or give other details.

Following the Iranian demonstrators' actions Tuesday, the Foreign Office said that "ensuring the safety of our staff and their families is our immediate priority."

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-a-world/11481-norway-closes-iran-embassy-as-uk-attacked

Protest in Brussels for Camp Ashraf protection ! EU We need Protection NOW!

AP

A man holds a sign and protests about Camp Ashraf, outside of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, July 18, 2011. Camp Ashraf, located in Iraq's northeast Diyala province, is the home of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, which seeks the overthrow of Iran's leaders. The group was given sanctuary by Saddam Hussein, then protected by the American forces after the regime fell, and now falls under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi government. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

EU Court rejects France's appeal to put back the MEK into the terrorist list

 News has come that the High Court in EU, has rejected a long term appeal put forth by France immediately after the MEK was judged out of the EU terror list by the EU High Court in 2009. This is the Statement by NCRI :

Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected France’s appeal against the General Court’s judgment in favor of PMOI, recommended to 13 Judges of the Court to reject it

On Thursday July 14, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union Miss Eleanor Sharpston considered French government’s appeal against the General Court’s judgment removing the PMOI from the EU terrorist list as unacceptable. She endorsed the General Court’s judgment and asked 13 judges of the Court not to accept the appeal.