Camp Ashraf, near Baghdad, Iraq, is the residence of about 3,500 Iranian refugees, members of the main opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The conference, entitled “Iran: Resistance and Human Rights,” was held at Martin Luther King Center in the city of Montpellier on October 20 on the initiative of several human rights organizations, including MRAP, Human Rights League (LDH), the Movement for Disarmament, Peace and Freedom (MDPL), Center for Third World Documentation, and the Iranian Women’s Association in France.
Jean Charles Taddei Chair of Human Rights League in the city of Montpellier emphasized the refugee and protected persons status of Camp Ashraf residents in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention and said in his speech: Ashraf residents must be protected on the basis of their refugee status, and moreover, they should not be repatriated or relocated to a place where there is fear of their torture. This stems from international law, something that human rights organizations have organized around.
With regards to the human rights abuses by the Iranian regime, he said: The Iranian regime has the highest number of executions per capita, including hanging of minors. The brutal punishment by stoning is also still being carried out. One cannot talk about justice and fair trial in the Iranian regime. The judiciary branch is not independent and is tied to the executive branch.
Ms. Madeleine Guyot, MDPL Secretary, pointed to the Iranian Resistance’s revelations about the clerical regime’s clandestine nuclear installations, and said: The Iranian regime is preparing itself for a war with the international community. To prevent another destructive war, comprehensive sanctions must be imposed on it.