NCRI – A British Nobel laureate has called on the Iraqi government to lift the medical siege on Camp Ashraf. He also condemned the installation of loudspeakers around the camp used for psychological torture of the residents, describing it as an example of crimes against humanity.
Sir Richard Roberts, a British biochemist and the 1993 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, wrote to the Iraqi Health Minister, saying, “I am writing to convey my profound worries and dismay as the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Medicine with respect to the medical siege imposed by the Iraqi government against 3,400 members of Camp Ashraf residing in your country.”
He added, “The residents of this camp are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
“It is extremely worrying and shocking that the issue of medical treatment, which is a legitimate right of every human being, is being misused as leverage to exert pressure on defenseless individuals. Abusing medical issues for the suppression of defenseless people constitutes a crime against humanity and culprits are liable to prosecution.”
In his letter to the Iraqi Health Minister, Sir Roberts added, “I urge you as the Health Minister and a doctor to cease such violations of human rights and to ensure free access to medical treatment for the residents of Camp Ashraf before more patients lose their lives as a result of the medical siege.”
“I also call on you to utilize all the resources available at your disposal to dismantle the loudspeakers which are being used as tools for psychologically torturing the residents, especially the hospitalized patients,” Sir Roberts added.
