NEWS))))))
Important resolution of European Parliament in support of Ashraf Residents European Parliament on Friday adopted a resolution, calling on the Iraqi authorities “to protect the lives and the physical and moral integrity of the residents of Camp Ashraf”-home to the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI) in Iraq- and “to treat them in accordance with obligations under the Geneva Conventions, notably not to forcibly displace, deport, expel or repatriate them in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
Humanitarian situation of Camp Ashraf ResidentsTEXT ADOPTEDat the sitting ofFriday24 April 2009
P6_TA-PROV (2009)04-24 FINAL EDITION PE 425.401
European Parliament resolution pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure on the humanitarian situation of Camp Ashraf residentsThe European Parliament,- having regard to the Geneva Conventions and notably Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the legal status of Protected Persons,- having regard to the Geneva Convention of 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Additional Protocol,- having regard to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the US and Iraqi Governments in November 2008,- having regard to its resolutions of 12 July 2007 and of 4 September 2008 including references to Camp Ashraf residents having legal status as Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention,- having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of Procedure,A. whereas Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq was established during the 1980s for members of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), B. whereas in 2003 US forces in Iraq disarmed Camp Ashraf’s residents and provided them with protection, having been designated ’protected persons’ under the Geneva Conventions,C. whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in a letter dated 15 October 2008 urged the Iraqi Government to protect Ashraf residents from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation in violation of the non-refoulement principle, and to refrain from any action that would endanger their life or security,D. whereas after the US/Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement Camp Ashraf has been returned to the control of Iraqi security forces as of 1 January 2009,E. whereas according to recent statements reportedly made by the Iraqi National Security Advisor the authorities intend gradually to make the continued presence of the Camp Ashraf residents ’intolerable’ and whereas he reportedly also referred to their expulsion/extradition and/or their forcible displacement inside Iraq, 1. Urges the Iraqi Prime Minister to ensure that no action is taken by the Iraqi authorities which violates the human rights of the Camp Ashraf residents and to clarify the government’s intentions towards them; calls on the Iraqi authorities to protect the lives, and the physical and moral integrity of the Camp Ashraf residents and to treat them in accordance with the obligations under the Geneva Conventions, notably not to forcibly displace, deport, expel or repatriate them in violation of the principle of non-refoulement;2. Respecting the individual wishes of anyone living in Camp Ashraf as regards to their future; considers that those living in Camp Ashraf and other Iranian nationals who currently reside in Iraq having left Iran for political reasons could be at risk of serious human rights violations if they were to be returned involuntarily to Iran, and insists that no person should be returned, either directly or via a third country, to a situation where they would be at risk of torture or other serious human rights abuses; 3. Calls on the Iraqi government to end its blockade of the camp and respect the legal status of the Camp Ashraf residents as ’protected persons’ under the Geneva Conventions, and to refrain from any action that would endanger their life or security, namely full access to food, water, medical care and supplies, fuel, family members and international humanitarian organisations; 4. Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States together with the Iraqi and US Governments and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee for the Red Cross to work towards finding a satisfactory long-term legal status for Camp Ashraf residents; 5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member states, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee for the Red Cross, the Government of the United States and the Governments and Parliaments of Iraq.
Man to be stoned to death in northern Iran
A man was secretly stoned to death in northern Iran in February and another man is only days away from facing a similar fate, a Tehran-based online daily reported on Wednesday.The report by Rooz, which is run by former officials, said that in the case of the man who was stoned in the city of Rasht in February, judicial sources did not hand over the body to his family for burial to keep details of his execution from leaking to the press. The main opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, citing ‘reliable sources’, had on 11 March said a man, identified as Vali Azad, 30, was ’secretly’ stoned to death in a prison in Rasht. It said that the stoning sentence, handed down by Judge Kashani was carried out in a remote part of the yard of Lakan Prison in the presence of a few prison officials.Rooz reported that another stoning sentence will be carried out in the coming days in Rasht. The judiciary in Gilan Province (northern Iran) is getting ready to carry out the sentence, which is a serious cause for concern among human rights activists, the report said. It identified the man awaiting the sentence as Mohammad Ali Navid Khamami. Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, adultery by a married woman is punishable by stoning. The law is very specific about the manner of execution and types of stones which should be used. Article 102 states that men will be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts for the purpose of execution by stoning. Article 104 states, with reference to the penalty for adultery, that the stones used should “not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes, nor should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones”
Iran’s state-run daily urges for a rise in violence in Iraq
The State-run daily Jomhouri-e-Eslami explicitly called for expansion of military attacks and violence in Iraq and wrote: 'The trend of developments in Iraq shows that Iraqis are insisting as before on their demand for withdrawal of occupiers and foreigners reckless and are not impressed by the occupiers’ pledges and promises. These events have pushed Iraqis to the conclusion that the Americans will never leave Iraq willingly and continuation and increase of attacks against the American forces should be evaluated in this regard”.
Amnesty urges immediate release for US reporter in Iran
Associated France Press reported; Amnesty International said Monday that Iran was looking for ’any excuse’ to detain US reporter Roxana Saberi , adding it seemed she was being held for ’solely political reasons’.Saberi, 31, was convicted in Iran last week of spying for the United States, a charge which carries the death sentence. Iran has denied she is being used as a bargaining chip in talks with Washington. ’The fact that Roxana Saberi faced a shifting tide of accusations from the time of her arrest until her trial is an indication that the Iranian authorities were looking for any excuse to detain her,’ said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui deputy director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa programme. ’There is no reason for holding Roxana Saberi, unless the Iranian authorities can provide convincing evidence that she committed a recognisable criminal offence.’ She added: ’If, as appears to be the case, Roxana Saberi is held solely for political reasons in connection to Iran’s relations with the USA... then she is a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally. ’We trust that in this case at least, justice will be served during the appeals process.’
1000 plus students rallied in Tehran against beating of a student by SSF agents
More than a thousand students of Teachers’ Training School in Tehran rallied in protest to entry of the suppressive State Security Force (SSF) agents into the university and beating the students; the SSF agents shot at the air and used pepper gas to disperse the students.On Sunday, April 19, the SSF agents had entered the university and arrested a student who had protested their entry to the university and while beating him threw him in the back trunk of a car and sought to leave the university when they faced with angry students. The SSF agents aimed their guns at the students and by shooting at air threatened the students and ultimately threw the injured student off the car and escaped.Following that incident, more than 1,000 students staged a demonstration and asked for punishment of orders and agents of that suppressive incident and official apology by SSF commander; they threatened, otherwise, they would resume their protests on Saturday.
Ban says Ahamdinejad’s behaviour ’unexpected’
AFP, Valletta, April 21, 2009 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s fiery speech at the UN conference on racism was unexpected and outside the remit of the talks, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.’While I appreciate his participation, what he did was out of the purpose of the conference and what we expected, what the international community expected,’ said Ban during a visit to Malta. Ban said -- as he did Monday following the outburst in Geneva in which Ahamdinejad slammed Israel as a ’cruel and racist regime’ -- that he had met with the Iranian leader beforehand and asked him to maintain a ’balanced and constructive position’.Ahamdinejad’s remarks prompted 23 European Union delegations to walk out of the conference room in protest. ’It was very regrettable and deplorable that this conference to deal with racism... was misused for a political purpose,’ said Ban, who was in Malta to discuss immigration issues. ’We have suffered enough because of racial discrimination and racism,’ Ban said after talks with Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. ’It was regrettable that some countries decided to remain outside the conference.’He added: ’I know that there are differences of opinions and positions. Whatever opinion aInd position one country may have, it is always better to come inside and express the positions so that we can coordinate ... and have good results.’Ban said conference participants reached a consensus text that is far better than the one adopted in Durban, South Africa in 2001, where the United States and Israel walked out over a proposal to link Zionism with racism.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
NEWS))))))
Anti-government rally of university students in northern Iran
Hundreds of students of Babol Technology University (northern Iran), chanting 'death to dictator' staged a demonstration and sit-in against suppressive measures of the Iranian regime at the university. Chanting “Student will die, but never be humiliated”, ' we don’t want mercenary president', and 'political prisoner must be released', the students announced their decisive support of detained students of Polytechnic University.They also asked for resignation of the University president. Three of the students went on hunger strike in continuation of the demonstration.
Iraqi Kurdish Committee condemns restrictions on Camp Ashraf residents
The Committee of Friendship between Iraqi Kurds and the Iranian People expressed its deepest regrets about pressures on members of Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran in Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad in Iraq.
We “ask the Iraqi government to end these pressures which have tainted the reputation of Iraq and the Iraqi government,” the committee said in a statement published on April 4, 2009. In other news in a session held in support of the Iranian Resistance and Ashraf residents’ rights at the International Foundation of Defonseca in the city of Torino, Italy, representatives of Italian human rights’ organizations and think thanks as well as scientific and cultural personalities and researchers participated and while condemning violation of human rights by the religious dictatorship ruling Iran asked for lifting limitations from Ashraf and guaranteeing its residents’ rights according to the international conventions. Also By releasing a statement, the Noble Hashemian Masters of Iraq emphasized legal status of Ashraf residents and guarantee of their rights based on international law and conventions and called for ending Ashraf siege.
Demonstration of Iranians and Ashraf residents’ families against Ashraf siege and dictated restrictions on it by the Iranian regime were staged in front of the Iraq’s embassies in Paris, London and Washington as well as outside the White House; the demonstrators asked for guarantee of protection and rights of Ashraf residents according to international conventions. Iranians will gather for the fifth times in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa tomorrow (Monday). Widespread protest of Iranian workers against suppressive and predatory policies
Iranian various sectors in Tehran, Kerman, Ardebil, and Kermanshah, by sit-ins and protesting gatherings, expressed their anger and disgust of the clerical regime’s suppressive and predatory policies.- In Tehran, a group of fired employees of the Tehran province’s labour office staged a protesting gathering in front of the Organization of Technical and Professional.- Representatives of the stockbreeders across the country gathered in front of the Trade Ministry in Tehran for the second day to protest against releasing permission for importing dry milk to substitute fresh milk.- In Kerman (southern Iranian city), more than 250 workers of the Bardsir Sugar Factory staged a protesting gathering in front of the governorate office in the city and protested against their delayed salaries.- In Ardebil (north western Iran), the workers of mayoralty of the city staged gathering outside the water and sewage company to protest against their salary delays.- In Kermanshah (western Iran), the workers of the West Carpet Company protested gathered in front of the Industries’ Office of the city to protest against their salary delays; this gathering has been continuing for several weeks.
Iranian group in Iraq part of high-stakes politics
AP, Baghdad, Apr 14, 2009 - The Iraqi government is stepping up efforts to pressure Iranian exiles into leaving the country, pushing an obscure group to the forefront of Baghdad’s relations with Washington and the Obama administration’s overtures to Iran. At stake is whether Iraq can resolve the fate of 3,500 members of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran without damaging its ties to both the U.S. and Iran.In recent weeks, leaders of the People’s Mujahedeen, known by its Farsi initials MEK, claim the Iraqis blockaded their Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad, allowing in only limited food and water shipments.And earlier this month, they say, the Iraqi guards prevented Iraqi surgeons from entering the camp to treat critically ill patients - although the Iraqis ultimately relented.This story continues below To outsiders, the MEK may seem a strange cult-like group that bans sex and family life - an image the MEK attributes to 'demonization' by the Iranian government.Both the U.S. and Iran consider it a terrorist organization.The Iraqi government makes no secret it wants the MEK out of the country in order to improve relations with Iran.'Remaining in Iraq is not an option,' said national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie. 'They have existed in Iraq solely to overthrow the government of a neighbor, Iran. That past permissiveness is over.'Iran has pressed for years to close the camp, but the issue came to a head after Iraqi forces took over security for Camp Ashraf on Jan. 1, under the Iraq-U.S. security pact. The government gave the Americans assurances they would not force the exiles back to Iran, where some face prosecution.U.S. officials in Baghdad have declined to comment publicly on the MEK issue.But the U.S. has a stake in the issue because the U.S. military signed an agreement with the militia after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, promising members would be treated as 'protected persons' under the Fourth Geneva Convention.Al-Rubaie says that with Iraqis in control, the MEK is no longer protected by national laws or international conventions and must leave.He dismisses claims of maltreatment and says Camp Ashraf residents are extremists who have been 'brainwashed' by about 15-20 of their most militant leaders. The U.S. has tried to defuse the tensions but without much success.The MEK has a long history in Iraq.Founded by Iranian leftists, it opposed Iran’s U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and took part in the 1979 Iranian revolution that brought the Islamic regime to power. Members were implicated in killings of Americans and the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran - reasons that put them on the U.S. terror list.But their blend of Marxism and secular Islamism pitted them against the Mullahs and they eventually settled in Iraq, where they fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s forces during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.During Saddam’s time, MEK members staged military parades at Camp Ashraf, marching in uniforms and flaunting an impressive arsenal, and carried out deadly raids into Iran to attack their sworn enemy - Tehran’s clerical regime.They transformed Camp Ashraf from a barren desert stretch in the heart of the volatile Diyala province and only 50 miles from the Iranian border into an oasis of well-kept gardens, sprouting water fountains and palm trees along marked-out streets.The fenced-off 30-square-mile compound houses 3,418 residents, including 900 women. Men and women obey a strict regimen, sleep in segregated, barrack-style quarters, and are said almost to deify their Paris-based leader, Maryam Rajavi. The camp has mostly been off limits and the government rarely allows media visits.Al-Rubaie says hundreds of the residents hold documents linking them to a third country. There are five U.S. citizens, 11 Canadians and some European and Australian dual nationals.Baghdad has tried to get those countries to accept them, and promises MEK members Iranian passports, a one-way ticket to a third country and $1,000 in pocket money, al-Rubaie said.But Camp Ashraf residents refuse to go.'It’s like somebody comes and tells you to leave the only home you’ve known for the past 20 years,' said Mohammad Mohaddessin, a senior official at MEK’s political wing in Paris.The camp, he says, is a modern 'city,' with a museum, a cemetery, a bakery - even an 'Ashraf Cola' factory. As for sex and family life, Ashraf residents 'left this behind them voluntarily,' Mohaddessin said.MEK is now turning to supporters in Europe, where the European Parliament in January removed the organization from its terror list after a British court backed the group’s claim to have renounced violence.If all else fails, the MEK says it may take the Camp Ashraf case to an international tribunal at The Hague.The Iraqi government says 261 residents were returned to Iran over the last two years and reported no persecution. Spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr of Iraq’s office of the International Red Cross - which visited the camp four times last year - says the last returnee went back to Iran in April 2008.Although the MEK is no longer a military threat, 'symbolically, it’s very important for Iran that they are expelled,' said Iranian analyst Saeed Leilaz. Washington’s acquiescence would be an overture to Tehran and a 'good start' for Iran and the U.S., he said.For now, Iraq’s stranglehold of Camp Ashraf has created a shortage of some commodities, including toothpaste, chlorine for water purification and generator fuel, said camp physician Hamid Gazaeri.The camp’s modest clinic is serviced by a few general practitioners, all Iranians living in Ashraf, and depends on regular visits by Iraqi specialists.Cancer sufferer Fatemeh Alizadeh, one of five patients who waited for a week for surgery until Iraqi doctors were allowed back last Friday, can’t imagine the camp closing.'It would be a catastrophe,' she said in a frail voice on the phone, speaking from her hospital bed. 'I am not going anywhere.'
Anti-government rally of university students in northern Iran
Hundreds of students of Babol Technology University (northern Iran), chanting 'death to dictator' staged a demonstration and sit-in against suppressive measures of the Iranian regime at the university. Chanting “Student will die, but never be humiliated”, ' we don’t want mercenary president', and 'political prisoner must be released', the students announced their decisive support of detained students of Polytechnic University.They also asked for resignation of the University president. Three of the students went on hunger strike in continuation of the demonstration.
Iraqi Kurdish Committee condemns restrictions on Camp Ashraf residents
The Committee of Friendship between Iraqi Kurds and the Iranian People expressed its deepest regrets about pressures on members of Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran in Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad in Iraq.
We “ask the Iraqi government to end these pressures which have tainted the reputation of Iraq and the Iraqi government,” the committee said in a statement published on April 4, 2009. In other news in a session held in support of the Iranian Resistance and Ashraf residents’ rights at the International Foundation of Defonseca in the city of Torino, Italy, representatives of Italian human rights’ organizations and think thanks as well as scientific and cultural personalities and researchers participated and while condemning violation of human rights by the religious dictatorship ruling Iran asked for lifting limitations from Ashraf and guaranteeing its residents’ rights according to the international conventions. Also By releasing a statement, the Noble Hashemian Masters of Iraq emphasized legal status of Ashraf residents and guarantee of their rights based on international law and conventions and called for ending Ashraf siege.
Demonstration of Iranians and Ashraf residents’ families against Ashraf siege and dictated restrictions on it by the Iranian regime were staged in front of the Iraq’s embassies in Paris, London and Washington as well as outside the White House; the demonstrators asked for guarantee of protection and rights of Ashraf residents according to international conventions. Iranians will gather for the fifth times in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa tomorrow (Monday). Widespread protest of Iranian workers against suppressive and predatory policies
Iranian various sectors in Tehran, Kerman, Ardebil, and Kermanshah, by sit-ins and protesting gatherings, expressed their anger and disgust of the clerical regime’s suppressive and predatory policies.- In Tehran, a group of fired employees of the Tehran province’s labour office staged a protesting gathering in front of the Organization of Technical and Professional.- Representatives of the stockbreeders across the country gathered in front of the Trade Ministry in Tehran for the second day to protest against releasing permission for importing dry milk to substitute fresh milk.- In Kerman (southern Iranian city), more than 250 workers of the Bardsir Sugar Factory staged a protesting gathering in front of the governorate office in the city and protested against their delayed salaries.- In Ardebil (north western Iran), the workers of mayoralty of the city staged gathering outside the water and sewage company to protest against their salary delays.- In Kermanshah (western Iran), the workers of the West Carpet Company protested gathered in front of the Industries’ Office of the city to protest against their salary delays; this gathering has been continuing for several weeks.
Iranian group in Iraq part of high-stakes politics
AP, Baghdad, Apr 14, 2009 - The Iraqi government is stepping up efforts to pressure Iranian exiles into leaving the country, pushing an obscure group to the forefront of Baghdad’s relations with Washington and the Obama administration’s overtures to Iran. At stake is whether Iraq can resolve the fate of 3,500 members of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran without damaging its ties to both the U.S. and Iran.In recent weeks, leaders of the People’s Mujahedeen, known by its Farsi initials MEK, claim the Iraqis blockaded their Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad, allowing in only limited food and water shipments.And earlier this month, they say, the Iraqi guards prevented Iraqi surgeons from entering the camp to treat critically ill patients - although the Iraqis ultimately relented.This story continues below To outsiders, the MEK may seem a strange cult-like group that bans sex and family life - an image the MEK attributes to 'demonization' by the Iranian government.Both the U.S. and Iran consider it a terrorist organization.The Iraqi government makes no secret it wants the MEK out of the country in order to improve relations with Iran.'Remaining in Iraq is not an option,' said national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie. 'They have existed in Iraq solely to overthrow the government of a neighbor, Iran. That past permissiveness is over.'Iran has pressed for years to close the camp, but the issue came to a head after Iraqi forces took over security for Camp Ashraf on Jan. 1, under the Iraq-U.S. security pact. The government gave the Americans assurances they would not force the exiles back to Iran, where some face prosecution.U.S. officials in Baghdad have declined to comment publicly on the MEK issue.But the U.S. has a stake in the issue because the U.S. military signed an agreement with the militia after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, promising members would be treated as 'protected persons' under the Fourth Geneva Convention.Al-Rubaie says that with Iraqis in control, the MEK is no longer protected by national laws or international conventions and must leave.He dismisses claims of maltreatment and says Camp Ashraf residents are extremists who have been 'brainwashed' by about 15-20 of their most militant leaders. The U.S. has tried to defuse the tensions but without much success.The MEK has a long history in Iraq.Founded by Iranian leftists, it opposed Iran’s U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and took part in the 1979 Iranian revolution that brought the Islamic regime to power. Members were implicated in killings of Americans and the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran - reasons that put them on the U.S. terror list.But their blend of Marxism and secular Islamism pitted them against the Mullahs and they eventually settled in Iraq, where they fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s forces during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.During Saddam’s time, MEK members staged military parades at Camp Ashraf, marching in uniforms and flaunting an impressive arsenal, and carried out deadly raids into Iran to attack their sworn enemy - Tehran’s clerical regime.They transformed Camp Ashraf from a barren desert stretch in the heart of the volatile Diyala province and only 50 miles from the Iranian border into an oasis of well-kept gardens, sprouting water fountains and palm trees along marked-out streets.The fenced-off 30-square-mile compound houses 3,418 residents, including 900 women. Men and women obey a strict regimen, sleep in segregated, barrack-style quarters, and are said almost to deify their Paris-based leader, Maryam Rajavi. The camp has mostly been off limits and the government rarely allows media visits.Al-Rubaie says hundreds of the residents hold documents linking them to a third country. There are five U.S. citizens, 11 Canadians and some European and Australian dual nationals.Baghdad has tried to get those countries to accept them, and promises MEK members Iranian passports, a one-way ticket to a third country and $1,000 in pocket money, al-Rubaie said.But Camp Ashraf residents refuse to go.'It’s like somebody comes and tells you to leave the only home you’ve known for the past 20 years,' said Mohammad Mohaddessin, a senior official at MEK’s political wing in Paris.The camp, he says, is a modern 'city,' with a museum, a cemetery, a bakery - even an 'Ashraf Cola' factory. As for sex and family life, Ashraf residents 'left this behind them voluntarily,' Mohaddessin said.MEK is now turning to supporters in Europe, where the European Parliament in January removed the organization from its terror list after a British court backed the group’s claim to have renounced violence.If all else fails, the MEK says it may take the Camp Ashraf case to an international tribunal at The Hague.The Iraqi government says 261 residents were returned to Iran over the last two years and reported no persecution. Spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr of Iraq’s office of the International Red Cross - which visited the camp four times last year - says the last returnee went back to Iran in April 2008.Although the MEK is no longer a military threat, 'symbolically, it’s very important for Iran that they are expelled,' said Iranian analyst Saeed Leilaz. Washington’s acquiescence would be an overture to Tehran and a 'good start' for Iran and the U.S., he said.For now, Iraq’s stranglehold of Camp Ashraf has created a shortage of some commodities, including toothpaste, chlorine for water purification and generator fuel, said camp physician Hamid Gazaeri.The camp’s modest clinic is serviced by a few general practitioners, all Iranians living in Ashraf, and depends on regular visits by Iraqi specialists.Cancer sufferer Fatemeh Alizadeh, one of five patients who waited for a week for surgery until Iraqi doctors were allowed back last Friday, can’t imagine the camp closing.'It would be a catastrophe,' she said in a frail voice on the phone, speaking from her hospital bed. 'I am not going anywhere.'
Sunday, April 12, 2009
NEWS))))))
Italian legislatures protest restrictions on Ashraf
In a press conference in Rome, a number of Italian legislatures from Italian Parliament and Senate along with chairman of Italian Human Rights’ League and Secretary of Italian Committee of Parliamentarians and Citizens protested against illegal and inhumane limitations against Ashraf residents and against Iraqi government’s refusal to issue visas for Italian political and human rights personalities to visit Ashraf and called on international human rights authorities for lifting illegal limitations from Ashraf City.Dr. Alfredo Arpaia, chairman of Italian Human Rights League, said: 'We know that 3,500 people are under pressure in Ashraf; we also know the Iranian dictatorial and totalitarian government and know that human lives are of no value to it. This explains why I am here to support this group along with our international federation; we requested for visas to visit Ashraf City but we have received no answer yet. We ask all governments not to be only after economical interests and to heed humanitarian problems too; we have the duty to encourage the United Nations and all human rights organizations to intervene in this matter and defend Ashraf’s rights.
Worldwide demonstration of Iranians protesting against Ashraf siege continued for the fourth week
In the fourth week of worldwide demonstrations and protests against pressures dictated by the Iranian regime and illegal measures by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie against Ashraf residents, the Iranians staged demonstrations in front of the Iraqi embassies in Canada, London, Washington, Berlin, The Hague and Stockholm.
The protested in Canada gathered in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa on Monday. They demanded the end of siege of Ashraf and its 3500 residence. The siege began after a direct order by Khamenie the supreme leader of the Iranian regime and carried out by Muwaffagh al-Rubaie, Iraq’s adviser of the country’s national security. The Iranians will gather in front of the Iraqi embassy on Monday April 20th.
Iraqi physicians eventually allowed in Camp Ashraf after a week-long prohibition
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on April 11th that the Iraqi surgeons and medical doctors were eventually allowed in Camp Ashraf on Friday after a week-long prohibition. They visited patients at Tabataba’i clinic of the Camp. According to reports from Ashraf, Ms. Fatemeh Alizadeh who suffers from cancer and five other patients were operated on Friday. On April 3, the Iraqi forces prevented physicians who had been visiting patients in Ashraf for many years from entering Ashraf. The move by Iraqi forces provoked widespread protests among Iranian communities and Iraqi political forces, parliamentarians, tribal leaders and citizens. Many parliamentarians, political and human rights personalities and organizations from across the world also expressed their concerns and protested the move.
Iranian regime hanged three for mosque bombing
Assiciated France Press reported on Thursday: Iran hanged on Friday three men convicted of a mosque bombing which left 14 people dead in the southern city of Shiraz a year ago, the official IRNA news agency reported. Mohsen Eslamian, 21, and Ali Asghar Pashtar, 20 -- both university students -- and Rouzbeh Yahyazadeh, 32, had been charged last year as ’mohareb’ (enemies of God) and ’corrupt on earth’ by a revolutionary court in Tehran.The three men were hanged in the city’s Adelabad prison.
Workers of two major Iranian factories protested against unpaid salaries
The workers of Haft-Tappe Sugar Cane Factory in Khusestan province (Southwestern Iran) went on strike on Tuesday to protest against unpaid salaries and arrest of the syndicate’s head of board of directors.Also, more than 800 workers of Bardsir Sugar Factory in Kerman province (central Iran) gathered in front of the labour office of the city to protest against 6-months unpaid salaries. The protesters said they live in such a very hard livelihood condition that they are not able to buy even bread on New Year’s Day.
Italian legislatures protest restrictions on Ashraf
In a press conference in Rome, a number of Italian legislatures from Italian Parliament and Senate along with chairman of Italian Human Rights’ League and Secretary of Italian Committee of Parliamentarians and Citizens protested against illegal and inhumane limitations against Ashraf residents and against Iraqi government’s refusal to issue visas for Italian political and human rights personalities to visit Ashraf and called on international human rights authorities for lifting illegal limitations from Ashraf City.Dr. Alfredo Arpaia, chairman of Italian Human Rights League, said: 'We know that 3,500 people are under pressure in Ashraf; we also know the Iranian dictatorial and totalitarian government and know that human lives are of no value to it. This explains why I am here to support this group along with our international federation; we requested for visas to visit Ashraf City but we have received no answer yet. We ask all governments not to be only after economical interests and to heed humanitarian problems too; we have the duty to encourage the United Nations and all human rights organizations to intervene in this matter and defend Ashraf’s rights.
Worldwide demonstration of Iranians protesting against Ashraf siege continued for the fourth week
In the fourth week of worldwide demonstrations and protests against pressures dictated by the Iranian regime and illegal measures by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie against Ashraf residents, the Iranians staged demonstrations in front of the Iraqi embassies in Canada, London, Washington, Berlin, The Hague and Stockholm.
The protested in Canada gathered in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa on Monday. They demanded the end of siege of Ashraf and its 3500 residence. The siege began after a direct order by Khamenie the supreme leader of the Iranian regime and carried out by Muwaffagh al-Rubaie, Iraq’s adviser of the country’s national security. The Iranians will gather in front of the Iraqi embassy on Monday April 20th.
Iraqi physicians eventually allowed in Camp Ashraf after a week-long prohibition
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on April 11th that the Iraqi surgeons and medical doctors were eventually allowed in Camp Ashraf on Friday after a week-long prohibition. They visited patients at Tabataba’i clinic of the Camp. According to reports from Ashraf, Ms. Fatemeh Alizadeh who suffers from cancer and five other patients were operated on Friday. On April 3, the Iraqi forces prevented physicians who had been visiting patients in Ashraf for many years from entering Ashraf. The move by Iraqi forces provoked widespread protests among Iranian communities and Iraqi political forces, parliamentarians, tribal leaders and citizens. Many parliamentarians, political and human rights personalities and organizations from across the world also expressed their concerns and protested the move.
Iranian regime hanged three for mosque bombing
Assiciated France Press reported on Thursday: Iran hanged on Friday three men convicted of a mosque bombing which left 14 people dead in the southern city of Shiraz a year ago, the official IRNA news agency reported. Mohsen Eslamian, 21, and Ali Asghar Pashtar, 20 -- both university students -- and Rouzbeh Yahyazadeh, 32, had been charged last year as ’mohareb’ (enemies of God) and ’corrupt on earth’ by a revolutionary court in Tehran.The three men were hanged in the city’s Adelabad prison.
Workers of two major Iranian factories protested against unpaid salaries
The workers of Haft-Tappe Sugar Cane Factory in Khusestan province (Southwestern Iran) went on strike on Tuesday to protest against unpaid salaries and arrest of the syndicate’s head of board of directors.Also, more than 800 workers of Bardsir Sugar Factory in Kerman province (central Iran) gathered in front of the labour office of the city to protest against 6-months unpaid salaries. The protesters said they live in such a very hard livelihood condition that they are not able to buy even bread on New Year’s Day.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
NEWS))))))
Iranian exiles protest at the Iraqi Embassy for safety of Camp Ashraf residents
In a protest outside the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin, Iranian exiles called for protection of several thousand residents of Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, Associated Press reported on Wednesday.A delegation presented list of demands to the Iraqi Embassy, the report said.The participants demanded, inter alia, the 'deployment of U.S. troops to protect the Camp Ashraf residents until a written and legally binding agreement is reached with the Iraqi government on the protection camp residents.”“The government in Baghdad has pledged to the U.S. that none of the inhabitants of the camp would be deported to Iran but recent statements by the Iraqi government in Baghdad have raised fear that they give in to the Iranian pressure,” Associated Press added.In a telephone interview with Associated Press, Shahriar Kiamanesh , a Camp Ashraf spokesman said that if Iraqi government gives in to the demands of the Iranian regime, it creates a precedent regarding the influence of Tehran in neighbouring Iraq and other Arab countries. Besides, deportations, extradition or relocations of camp residents within Iraq is a breach of international humanitarian law, he said.The organizers told Associated Press that about 120 family members of residents of Camp Ashraf participated in the demonstration in Berlin.For more than two decades, the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran has maintained a presence in Iraq. Currently nearly 3,500 members of the PMOI including about 1000 women reside in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.
Last Monday, Iranians gathered in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa to protest the collaboration of the Iraqi government with the Iranian regime. Raymonde Folco a member of the parliament said: we want you to act responsibly and don’t give in to the Iranian regime’s demands. We must continue the struggle for Ashraf. Mr. Warren Crits, lawyer and a member of the Lawyers International Committee for defending Ashraf said I had the preveilage of visiting Ashraf and interview a lot of the residence. Based on the 4th Geneva Convension, these people cannot be moved against their will. We know that this has been said many times but we stand up against these kinds of talks.
Head of Iraqi News Agency: Preventing physicians’ from entering Ashraf is outcome of Iran’s pressure on Iraq
Sarmad Abdulkarim, the manager of Iraqi News Agency, in an interview with Babeliya TV, called the measure of the Iraqi forces in preventing the Iraqi physicians entering Ashraf inhumane and the outcome of the Iranian regime’s pressure on the Iraqi government.He said: 'These aggressions against Ashraf residents are taking place with political motives and with the aim of increasing pressures on Ashraf residents in order to illegally push them to leave the camp. Presently the physicians are prevented from entering Ashraf; even if somebody is sentenced to death, he has the right to be treated by the physicians before execution; even during Gaza war, they opened the path for physicians and medical convoys. 'Sarmand Abdulkarim said: 'Today all syndicates including Iraqi Physicians’ Syndicate, Pharmacies’ Syndicate, and human rights’ organizations and top of them the Ministry of Human Rights, human rights’ organizations and Iraqi clergies, churches and Father Cardinal Emanuel Deli, the third, should embark on aiding Ashraf residents. We urge Muwaffaq al-Rubaie as the Security Advisor, if he is not afraid of legal measures, to open Camp Ashraf gate so the realities are known to all, and the people and reporters observe whether any violations against Iraq’s constitution have taken place by Ashraf residents? And are these measures aimed at supporting Iraq’s national interests or are to fulfill Khamenei’s orders?
US State Department: We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations
In his daily press Briefing on Mrch 30, 2009, Gordon Duguid, Acting US Deputy State Department Spokesman, responding to the question was asked: ' Is the United States working with the Iraqis on the disposition of the MEK people? It seems like they’re kind of - the Iraqis are rushing to judgment on this sentence and - well, what outcome would you like to see for these people?' Mr. Duguid replied: As you may be aware, the disposition of Camp Ashraf was given a full transfer to the responsibility of the Iraqis on February the 20th. We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations. And those are the two key factors that specifically address your question. Although the United States Government remains engaged on this issue, responsibility for resolving the situation at the camp rests with the Government of Iraq at this time.In answer to the question about his desired outcome from this situation, Duguid said:”The desired outcome is one that fully fits within Iraq’s laws and their international commitments to the residents of this camp”.
Prisoner dies due to lack of medical attention
According to reports from ward 6 of Gohardasht Prison in city of Karaj, 40 kilometers west of Tehran, on Sunday March 29, prisoner named Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi had a heart attack and was left without medical attention for 30 minutes after which he died. Shahbazi was taken to the prison yard at 7:30 am along with all the other prisoners in ward six. Prison guards locked the prison doors leaving prisoners in the yard. At about 8 am, Shahbazi suffered a heart attack. The other prisoners pounded on the prison doors for about 30 minutes to inform the prison guards of Shahbazi’s condition but the guards did not pay any attention and this prisoner died half an hour before he was taken to the prison medical clinic. Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi was in his mid 40’s and had been imprisoned in Evin and Gohardasht Prison for about 14 years.
Iranian exiles protest at the Iraqi Embassy for safety of Camp Ashraf residents
In a protest outside the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin, Iranian exiles called for protection of several thousand residents of Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, Associated Press reported on Wednesday.A delegation presented list of demands to the Iraqi Embassy, the report said.The participants demanded, inter alia, the 'deployment of U.S. troops to protect the Camp Ashraf residents until a written and legally binding agreement is reached with the Iraqi government on the protection camp residents.”“The government in Baghdad has pledged to the U.S. that none of the inhabitants of the camp would be deported to Iran but recent statements by the Iraqi government in Baghdad have raised fear that they give in to the Iranian pressure,” Associated Press added.In a telephone interview with Associated Press, Shahriar Kiamanesh , a Camp Ashraf spokesman said that if Iraqi government gives in to the demands of the Iranian regime, it creates a precedent regarding the influence of Tehran in neighbouring Iraq and other Arab countries. Besides, deportations, extradition or relocations of camp residents within Iraq is a breach of international humanitarian law, he said.The organizers told Associated Press that about 120 family members of residents of Camp Ashraf participated in the demonstration in Berlin.For more than two decades, the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran has maintained a presence in Iraq. Currently nearly 3,500 members of the PMOI including about 1000 women reside in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.
Last Monday, Iranians gathered in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa to protest the collaboration of the Iraqi government with the Iranian regime. Raymonde Folco a member of the parliament said: we want you to act responsibly and don’t give in to the Iranian regime’s demands. We must continue the struggle for Ashraf. Mr. Warren Crits, lawyer and a member of the Lawyers International Committee for defending Ashraf said I had the preveilage of visiting Ashraf and interview a lot of the residence. Based on the 4th Geneva Convension, these people cannot be moved against their will. We know that this has been said many times but we stand up against these kinds of talks.
Head of Iraqi News Agency: Preventing physicians’ from entering Ashraf is outcome of Iran’s pressure on Iraq
Sarmad Abdulkarim, the manager of Iraqi News Agency, in an interview with Babeliya TV, called the measure of the Iraqi forces in preventing the Iraqi physicians entering Ashraf inhumane and the outcome of the Iranian regime’s pressure on the Iraqi government.He said: 'These aggressions against Ashraf residents are taking place with political motives and with the aim of increasing pressures on Ashraf residents in order to illegally push them to leave the camp. Presently the physicians are prevented from entering Ashraf; even if somebody is sentenced to death, he has the right to be treated by the physicians before execution; even during Gaza war, they opened the path for physicians and medical convoys. 'Sarmand Abdulkarim said: 'Today all syndicates including Iraqi Physicians’ Syndicate, Pharmacies’ Syndicate, and human rights’ organizations and top of them the Ministry of Human Rights, human rights’ organizations and Iraqi clergies, churches and Father Cardinal Emanuel Deli, the third, should embark on aiding Ashraf residents. We urge Muwaffaq al-Rubaie as the Security Advisor, if he is not afraid of legal measures, to open Camp Ashraf gate so the realities are known to all, and the people and reporters observe whether any violations against Iraq’s constitution have taken place by Ashraf residents? And are these measures aimed at supporting Iraq’s national interests or are to fulfill Khamenei’s orders?
US State Department: We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations
In his daily press Briefing on Mrch 30, 2009, Gordon Duguid, Acting US Deputy State Department Spokesman, responding to the question was asked: ' Is the United States working with the Iraqis on the disposition of the MEK people? It seems like they’re kind of - the Iraqis are rushing to judgment on this sentence and - well, what outcome would you like to see for these people?' Mr. Duguid replied: As you may be aware, the disposition of Camp Ashraf was given a full transfer to the responsibility of the Iraqis on February the 20th. We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations. And those are the two key factors that specifically address your question. Although the United States Government remains engaged on this issue, responsibility for resolving the situation at the camp rests with the Government of Iraq at this time.In answer to the question about his desired outcome from this situation, Duguid said:”The desired outcome is one that fully fits within Iraq’s laws and their international commitments to the residents of this camp”.
Prisoner dies due to lack of medical attention
According to reports from ward 6 of Gohardasht Prison in city of Karaj, 40 kilometers west of Tehran, on Sunday March 29, prisoner named Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi had a heart attack and was left without medical attention for 30 minutes after which he died. Shahbazi was taken to the prison yard at 7:30 am along with all the other prisoners in ward six. Prison guards locked the prison doors leaving prisoners in the yard. At about 8 am, Shahbazi suffered a heart attack. The other prisoners pounded on the prison doors for about 30 minutes to inform the prison guards of Shahbazi’s condition but the guards did not pay any attention and this prisoner died half an hour before he was taken to the prison medical clinic. Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi was in his mid 40’s and had been imprisoned in Evin and Gohardasht Prison for about 14 years.
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