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According to the Iranian resistance sources, a number of rockets have hit the southern part of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The rockets landed close to residential compound. Camp Ashraf was the target of raid last April in which 36 unarmed residents were killed.  Since then the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki has pressed the resident to leave the camp.  The residents have filed for asylum with the United Nations Refugee agency UNHCR. On Dec. 21^st the Iraqi government announced a 6 months extension of the Dec. 31^st deadline opposed by Maliki. The Attack took place at 8 pm local time. Camp Ashraf is located about 80 Kilometers north of Baghdad.

Canada welcomes extension of Closure of Camp Ashraf

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird met with Abdulrahman Hamid Mohammed Al-Husaini, Iraq’s Ambassador to Canada, in Ottawa ob December 21, and while the two touched on a broad range of security issues in the Middle East and on the reconstruction of Iraq, the focus of their discussion was Camp Ashraf, the home to 3400 Iranian dissidents. This refugee camp had been set to close at the end of the month, but on December 21, the Iraqi government announced a 6-month extension of that deadline. This will allow the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees more time to consider and facilitate outstanding asylum requests. John Baird directed officials of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada to visit Camp Ashraf and keep him apprised of developments there. The Minister also summoned Iraqi officials on several occasions and expressed Canada’s deep concern over the instability closing the Camp might cause. The House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights, aired the issue of Camp Ashraf thoroughly this fall and worked across party lines with Baird to ensure the safety and security of refugees in the camp.

Mrs. Rajavi also welcomes peaceful solution for Camp Ashraf announces the residents consent for transfer of 400 of them to Camp Liberty with minimum guarantees for their security and safety provided

According to National Council of Resistance of Iran’s statement on Dec. 21^st,  Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance welcomed a peaceful resolution of the Ashraf crisis and once again declared her readiness for an immediate visit to Baghdad for start of the talks with the Iraqi government for making the arrangements for implementation of a peaceful resolution of Ashraf crisis and to ensure the minimum guarantees for the safe and security of 400 Ashraf residents in their transfer to Camp Liberty.

The talks should be held at the presence of Ambassador Dan Fried, Special Advisor to U.S.  Secretary of State on Ashraf; Martin Kobler, the UNSG Representative to Iraq; Ambassador Jean de Ruyt, Special Advisor to Baroness Ashton on Ashraf; Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-president of the European Parliament; Struan Stevenson, President of European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq; and lawyers of Ashraf. While referring to remarks of Prime Minister Maliki on Wednesday, December 21, Mrs. Rajavi added:  'If Mr. Maliki, as he says, is truly for the departure of PMOI from Iraq, he should have not wasted any time since four months ago and immediately had accepted that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees start its work in Ashraf for reconfirmation of the residents’ refugee status and their transfer to third countries.' The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, reminded the following as the minimum humanitarian and legal guarantees:

1. Safe and secure transfer of each and every one of Ashraf residents, without exception to Camp Liberty with their vehicles and moveable property under international observation

2. Around the clock monitoring by the UN and U.S. until the transfer of the last person to the third country,

3. Initiation of the work of the UNHCR,

4. Iraqi forces shall be stationed outside of  fenced area of the new location to ensure the security and tranquility, particularly for nearly 1,000 Muslim women,

5. Ending the siege against, and halting any persecution and harassment of, the residents and annulment of forged warrants of arrests without any exception, and

6. Selling of the fixed properties of the residents under the UN supervision and to be reimbursed to the residents to pay for their security, logistical expenses, and transfer to third countries.

Head of Iran Judiciary defends widespread executions

Sadeq Larijani the head of the Judiciary in Iran said that the international community has become a tool in the hand of America and that the Islamic Republic is not ‘afraid’ of carrying out executions. “Execution sentences… are carried out according to the law and religion and in some case have to be in public”. He said. “Retribution in Iran is very rare but the law gives this right to the family of the victim and this is while in some western countries, they also accept retribution”, Sadeq Larijani claimed. 

Iranian regime hangs man in Saveh

On December 20, a prisoner was hanged in the Saveh Prison. According to the Commander of the Saveh State Security Forces, this person was identified as N-Y.

National council of Resistance of Iran said in its statement on Dec. 16 that during Wednesday December 14 and Thursday December 15, the military and security forces under Maliki’s command looted everything in the Moein building and facilities complex in the northern section of Camp Ashraf, and distributed the looted property among the soldiers and the units of the Army stationed around Ashraf. NCRI added: This action is taken in preparation for attacking Camp Ashraf. On December 14, the Committee for Suppression of Ashraf at the Office of Iraq’s Prime Minister issued an order to station the new mercenaries of the terrorist Quds Force and the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOI) at the Moein Building Complex in order to boost the forces around Ashraf. On Thursday December 15, Mulazim Haydar, Iraqi military’s intelligence officer who is stationed at Ashraf by the Suppression Committee, took a number of Iranian MOI agents to the Moein Complex in order to arrange for stationing new mercenaries in that complex. Due to his participation in multiple crimes against Ashraf residents, Mulazem Haydar is summoned by the Spain’s International Court. He was directly and actively participated in the massacre of Ashraf residents on April 8th, 2011.

Camp Ashraf is home to some 3400 Iranian dissidents who are facing inhumane conditions. As if lack of medication, water, food and fuel was not harsh enough, they are ordered out of Iraq by the end of Dec. 2011 by Nouri Almaliki, Iraq’s prime minister. Though they are protected persons under the 4^th Genva convention and now are recognized in the United Nations as refugee seekers, the Iraqi government prevents the UN officials to meet with the residence for interviews. On the other hand the early exit of the US army from Iraq seems to be helping the Iraqi forces for more deadly attack on the unarmed residents of Ashraf. Thousands of Parliamentarians around the world have condemned the Dec. 31^st. deadline as well as Iraqi leaders who oppose the Maliki regime and have demanded postponement of the deadline. The Iranian communities around the world are also seeking postponement and safe relocations of the Camp Ashraf residence under UN supervision to third countries.

Man hanged in public despite being in critical condition

The public execution for a prisoner was carried out on the dawn of Saturday December 11 in the Danesh Square in Shahre Kord  even though the prisoner needed urgent medical attention. According to state-run media, a prisoner identified as Kianoush Sh. who had cut his wrists a few minutes before his execution was hanged in public despite heavily bleeding. Sometimes, the Iranian security system gives sedatives to prisoners before carrying out the death sentence to prevent such incidents. 

Iran sentences 5 Christians to prison terms

The Revolutionary Court sentenced five Christians in Shiraz to a total of five years imprisonment. They were identified as Parviz Khalaj, Behrouz Sadeq Khanjani , Mohammad Biliad , Nazli Makarian [f]  and Mehdi Foroutan .

4 Baha’i citizens held behind bars under very unsound conditions at Shiraz Pirbenoy prison

Human Rights House of Iran reports that in the past days, Vahdat Dana, Afshin Ehsanian, Farham Masoumi  and Keyvan Karami were transferred to Ward 1 of Shiraz Pirbenoy prison where they are being kept in a very cold cell with 30 other prisoners.

These 4 Baha’i prisoners, who are prohibited from exiting the cell, are depriving of any movement in the ward by the prison officials. They are banned from visitations and are not allowed to contact their families. Even though their families delivered their medications, the prisoners did not receive them due to the prison infirmary being closed. These conditions are especially dangerous for Vahdat Dana who is suffering from heart disease.

They are in prison on the charges of “Propaganda against the regime”. 

The Iranian regime to install security cameras in classrooms to further control students

Isna state-run news agency reported that Fatemeh Qorban, the aid to the Minister of Education for Elementary School Education said, “Currently we use closed circuit cameras in school cafeterias and public places to control students but in the future these cameras will be taken inside the classrooms to better control educational actions in the classrooms”.

Security forces arrested 60 girls and boys in Shiraz partyAccording to Kayhan state-run daily Dec. 4; Participants in a night party were arrested with the efforts of the Moral Security Police in the Fars Province. Security forces were informed that a number of young men and women were having a party in a garden in the north western region of Shiraz. Agents arrested 60 people and discovered alcoholic beverages in the garden. The detainees were transferred to prison on orders of the Shiraz Public and Revolutionary Court.

EU leaders call for more sanctions on Iran

Reuters reported on Dec. 9 that European Union leaders called on Friday for more sanctions against the Iranian regime by the end of January, in an effort to increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. 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 is seeking the atom bomb. In other news Japan also toughens sanctions on the Iranian regime. Japan said it added around 100 Iranian groups and an individual to a blacklist that imposes asset freezes and now totals over 300 entities. It also raised the number of Iranian banks it has suspended correspondent banking relationships with to 20 from 17. Measures announced by Japan in September 2010 included halting all new energy-related investment in Iran and warning companies to be cautious over existing contracts.

UN asks Iraq to extend dissident camp deadline

The United Nations on Tuesday appealed to the Iraqi government to push back a December 31 deadline to close an Iranian dissident camp north of Baghdad, warning of a growing risk of violence. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also renewed appeals to the international community to find a home for the estimated 3,400 Iranian exiles at Camp Ashraf. Amid heightened international concerns, the UN envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, told the UN Security Council many “obstacles” remain to ending doubts over how to end the camp standoff. The positions of the residents and the government “remain far apart,” Kobler told the 15-member council. There is “a real danger of confrontation and even violence” because of the uncertainty over the camp, which has been home to members of the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) since the 1980s. Iraq has insisted it must close by the end of the year. But the camp’s inhabitants refuse to move unless they are given UN protection. At least 36 people at the camp were killed in clashes in April. Residents said they were attacked by Iraqi forces. Kobler said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is ready to start interviewing Camp Ashraf residents, but there is little hope of ending the dispute over the camp by December 31. “I therefore appeal to the government of Iraq to extend this deadline in order to permit adequate time for a solution to be found,” Kobler said. The envoy said any solution must suit the Iraqi government, which says the camp is a security threat, and the residents’ demands for a safe exit. Tomorrow in front of the white house a large demonstration by the Iranians is expected as Nouri Maleki visits with Barak Obama.

Women banned from working as secretaries in Bushehr offices

The Bushehr Governor cited the ban on the use of female secretaries for managers and said, “The plan for gender segregation for office employees in Bushehr will be carried out”… “Promoting virtue and prohibiting vice is a public duty and because everyone does not carry out this duty well enough, this issue has become obsolete in the society”. “Many of the displays of improper veiling in the society have become prevalent in the society because of management weaknesses therefore we need a strong will to solve the problem of veiling”, he stressed. “We will deal with companies and offices that have not cooperated with the Staff to Awaken the Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of Vice”.

Qom women’s affairs cleric says equal education for girls and boys will lead to change in their sexual identity

The head of the Women’s Observation and Research affiliated with the Central Management of the Sister’s Religious Seminaries said, “The existence of an equal educational system for girls and boys will lead to a change in their sexual identity”. Hojatol -Islam Mohammad-Reza Zibayi Nejad pointed to some of the reasons for weakness in having forbidden sexual relationships and said, “One of the reasons is a change that occurs in people’s sexual identity”. He said that this was because of a change in how people see men and women and added, “The western educational system and also our educational system do not segregate on the issue of gender”… He said that the aim of the West in carrying out this educational system is to remove the sexual differences between men and men. “The result of this issue is that we bring up bold girls and sensitive boys”… “For example, epic poems have to be used in the boys’ educational books”, he added.

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UK embassy attack orchestrated by Iranian regime

Al-Arabiya reported on Dec. 1^st that the storming of the British embassy in Tehran was not staged by a group of students expressing their indignation at UK policies, but was rather orchestrated by the Iranian authorities, sources said on Wednesday. Al-Arabiya added: according to the sources, the attack was planned under the auspices of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and supervised by Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of the Basij paramilitary forces. Photographs that depicted the attack on the embassy showed that a special force affiliated with the Basij, in addition to the other regular Basij troops, took part. Other photos revealed that members of al-Quds brigade also took part in the attack. The sources added that two official channels broadcast the storming of the embassy live. The channels were Press T.V. and al-Alam News Network, both directly controlled by Khamenei. According to the sources, no official channel is allowed to broadcast anything live without obtaining Khamenei’s permission.  All Iranian diplomats left Britain on Friday after being expelled in protest at the storming by Bassijies of the British embassy in Tehran, a government spokesman said. Hague had given Iran’s diplomats 48 hours to close their embassy and leave the country, following the storming of two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran on Tuesday. Britain has also evacuated its diplomats from Iran and closed its embassy following the attacks, which Hague said could not have happened without the Iranian regime’s tacit consent. The attack on British Embassy came after the Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to expel the British ambassador and reduce trade relations with Britain in retaliation for UK-led sanctions against Iran’s banking sector. According to Associated France Press, France is to pull out part of its diplomatic staff from Tehran following the ransacking of Britain’s embassy this week. The European Union piled pressure on the Iranian regime following the attack, beefing up sanctions Thursday over Tehran’s nuclear program and threatening to hit its oil and finances next. The hope of the Iranian regime was that the west would back off sanctions against the mullahs which back fired. The international community strongly condemned the attack on British Embassy in Tehran.

Canada encourages the Iraqi government to extend the Camp Ashraf closure deadline

In an open Session at the parliament in response to Scott Armstrong’s question: Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please inform the House our opinion on what’s going to happen at Camp Ashraf and our acts on this important file?  Mr. John Baird responded: Canada encourages the Iraqi government to extend the closure deadline to allow remaining residents efficient time to take up required steps to seek asylum and to allow the United Nations Human Rights Council to consider and process applications. We call on Iraq to meet its obligations under international law. We also want to ensure that Camp Ashraf residents are not forcibly transferred to another country where they could suffer. I can assure the House that my officials and I will be monitoring the situation very closely. 3400 Iranian unarmed residence of Camp Ashraf are under siege and possible attack from the Iraqi forces. They have been recognized as refugee seekers by the UN but the Iraqi government refuses their status and is planning to transform them in different locations inside Iraq by the end of Dec. In April 2011 the Iraqi forces attacked the unarmed residence of Camp Ashraf killing 36 and wounding many more. A similar attack in 2009 by the Iraqi forces ended the lives of 11 Ashraf residents. Nouri Maliki Iraq’s prime minister is expected to visit Barak Obama on Dec. 12, 2011 and Iranians are preparing for a huge demonstration in Washington Dc in front of the white house. They are seeking postponement of relocation of Ashrf residents and protection from USA.

Officials extend political prisoner Reza Jushan’s sentence

Committee in Defense of Political Prisoners announced on Dec. 1, that the Political prisoner Reza Jushan who was arrested after the 2009 elections, has been sentenced to another year of prison for a new case. He was transferred to the special security cellblock in Rajayi Shahr Prison in Karaj. This political prisoner’s last sentence was due to end in late October but he was taken to Evin on orders of security and judicial officials in early September with the aim of bringing new charges against him… Mr. Jushan suffered serious ailments in the past two years due to very hard conditions and mental and physical torture by security and judicial agents. On the last instance on August 3, he suffered a heart problem and did not receive any kind of medical attention.

A Kurdish carrier froze to death in a solitary cell after being arrested by the security forces in Iran

Harana reported that according to reports from Javanroud, security forces arrested 24 year old Hashem Nazari on Wednesday November 23 on charges of carrying fabric. He was detained in a solitary cell in the Javanroud Detention Center. After five days, a prison guard found his lifeless body in the cell. The Javanroud forensics doctor said the cause of his death was extreme cold and lack of medical attention.