A number of residents have disappeared and searches for them has reached nowhere. Like in the attack of July 2009, they have been taken hostage by Iraqi forces and are subject to harassment and persecution. They should be immediately released and returned.
Those who have been taken hostage are Ms. Vajiheh Karbalaie, Ms. Mahboobeh Lashkari, Ms. Fatemeh Sakhaie, Fatemeh Tahouri, Ms. Leila Nebahat, Ms. Sedigheh Ebrahim-pour and Mr. Mohsen Niknami.
They are all protected persons under the Geneva Convention and as admitted by the UNHCR are asylum-seekers and “persons of concern”. While reminding the United Nations and the US government’s responsibility for these persons’ safety and security, Iranian Resistance urges for their immediate release and return.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 2, 2013
