Burial of 52 martyrs of Ashraf in undisclosed location in absence of UN and their families by government of Iraq
Maryam Rajavi underscored that the objective of this secret burial to destroy the evidence of the crime and to save the culprits from justice. She called on the UN Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court
NCRI – Despite 164 days of follow up by representatives and lawyers of Camp Liberty residents, human rights defenders, and the families of the 52 martyrs of the Camp Ashraf massacre to receive the bodies of their loved ones, the Government of Iraq has in yet another inhumane and criminal act, clandestinely buried the victims’ bodies.
Residents’ representatives had earlier acquired some information about this secret burial, and when asked questions about it, a representative of the Iraqi government confirmed the burial in a meeting with them on February 11, but gave no information about the time and place it took place.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, declared: “The clandestine burial of the bodies of the martyrs at an unspecified time and an undisclosed location in the absence of members of their families, as well as the absence and even knowledge of the UN representative who had officially received the bodies of the martyrs in Camp Ashraf on September 2, is to destroy the evidence and save the murderers from a trial and punishment for crime against humanity. This is stark proof of the Iraqi government’s complete responsibility for crime against humanity at Camp Ashraf. This inhumane act reminds us of the massacre of political prisoners by Khomeini’s Fatwa back in 1988, and their secret overnight burial in mass graves.
Mrs. Rajavi once again stressed the need for an independent international investigation by the International Criminal Court into the massacre and hostage-taking in Camp Ashraf and called for the referral of the case to this court by the United Nations Security Council.
Maliki is attempting to destroy the evidence of a crime against humanity while there is an international consensus, including in the European Parliament, in the U.S. House and Senate, by six expert bodies of the UN, by the Spanish Court, by organizations that defend human rights such as the Amnesty International, and by a large number of prominent international personalities regarding the responsibility of Government of Iraq in this crime.
In its decision of November 21, the Spanish court announced: “Killings, injuries, noise bombardment, denial of food and healthcare – nothing can happen at Ashraf without the knowledge of the Committee members and in particular of Faleh al-Fayad… In security matters throughout the country, including Ashraf, Faleh al-Fayad is the person in charge.”
The court went on to add: “On 1 September, 2013, the Iraqi military forces surrounding and occupying Ashraf permitted the cold-blooded massacre of 52 residents – of the roughly 100 residents who had not been forced to move to ‘Camp Liberty’, all with protected person status under the Fourth Geneva Convention. A further seven ‘protected persons’ were abducted during this assault and have yet to be released, and neither have the Iraqi authorities said where they are. Property belonging to the residents was looted, several buildings were destroyed with explosives and one was burned down.”
The bodies of the 52 martyrs were handed over to Mr. Francesco Motta, Chief of UNAMI Human Rights Office, on 2 September, 2013, at the request of Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq.
In the receipt signed by Mr. Motta for the bodies of the martyrs it is written: “Based on agreement between the representative of the residents of Ashraf and UNAMI, on Sep 2, 2013, fifty two bodies of martyrs who were killed by bullet shots in the massacre of September 1, 2013, were delivered in the presence of Mr. Francesco Motta, Chief of UNAMI Human Rights Office, to be kept in the Baquba Hospital until an impartial international observer will be present for autopsy.”
Families of the martyrs of the Ashraf massacre filed their complaints with the Iraqi Judiciary in October for the prosecution of perpetrators of this massacre and to receive the corpses of the martyrs. They also repeated their requests in 75 letters. Moreover, another 75 letters were sent out by the residents’ lawyers with the same purpose and there were also 62 phone calls and various meetings in this respect. In the past five and a half months, in numerous statements and letters, in 69 Camp Liberty Daily Reports, and in hundreds of referrals, calls and meetings with the Iraqis, U.S. and UN officials in Camp Liberty, Washington, Geneva, New York, Brussels and European capitals, the representatives of residents in and out of Iraq requested that the bodies of the martyrs to be handed over to their families and friends in Camp Liberty.
In the December 26 statement, the Iranian Resistance, based on documents and credible evidence from inside Iran, revealed that Nouri Maliki is obstructing the announcement of the coroner’s office reports and the handover of the martyrs’ corpses to their families in Camp Liberty and their burial in fear of the consequences of a crime against humanity.
According to these documents: “Autopsies on all bodies was performed on September 8 and 9 by the responsible physician at the Baghdad Coroner’s Office… In part of the autopsy reports that were accessible, details of the wounds and reason of death of each person has been put in ink with most stating ‘cause of death’ as ‘bullet wound’ to the head. In numerous cases in the coroner’s office reports… it is explicitly stated that ‘hands were tied in the back by metal handcuffs’. This is while Maliki’s sham investigations had claimed that no handcuffs were seen on the bodies of the dead.”
The Iranian Resistance has numerously warned, including in the above statement, that “In fear of the consequences of a crime against humanity and to wash his bloody hands and to pave the way for future atrocities, Maliki is attempting to destroy all the evidence” and stresses “the imperative is to conduct an independent and thorough investigation by the United Nations into the September 1 massacre in Ashraf, and to refer the dossier to the International Criminal Court.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 12, 2014
