Following international condemnations of the September 1 massacre at Camp Ashraf during which 52 dissidents were executed and seven, including six women, were abducted by Iraqi forces, the Iraqi PM today officially denied his forces were holding the hostages.
Iraqi government officials had previously denied the massacre in Camp Ashraf and had spread contradictory reports about the atrocious killing of the defenseless dissidents, which were later proved to be wrong. UNAMI officials have since confirmed the massacre and the extra judicial execution of 52 members of the PMOI members.
Dr. Tahar Boumedra, a former senior UN official in Iraq and in charge of the Camp Ashraf case, said in a conference in the British Parliament on September 14th: “The reality of Camp Ashraf is that no one could penetrate Camp Ashraf without the express permission of the Iraqi government, army and police. This attack was ordered by the government of Iraq. We will unfortunately witness another attack in Camp Liberty unless the international community acts to stop these atrocious crimes against humanity.’’
The denial of Nouri Al-Maliki comes at a time when the International community has shown it’s outrage against the inhumane killing of Camp Ashraf residents at the behest of the Iranian dictatorship.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Noble peace prize winner, said in an statement on Wednesday 18th of September: “I strongly condemn the mass executions of innocent residents of Camp Ashraf on September 1, 2013. It is particularly disheartening to hear that many of them were handcuffed or injured when they were killed. The world community must hold the Iraqi government accountable for these heinous crimes, as these were refugees designated as such by the UN and therefore deserving the protection of the Iraqi government.
“I also join those who have voiced concerns over the fate of the seven hostages (six women and one man), taken from Ashraf. The Government of Iraq must immediately produce and release them. Under no circumstances should the government of Iraq turn them over to the Iranian authorities, as we know that they will face torture and execution there.”
The National Council of Resistance of Iran announced in a statement this morning that based on the latest reports received from within the mullahs’ regime, the seven Ashraf hostages are still being held by forces under the command of Maliki in a Baghdad prison near the airport. They are on hunger strike. The hostages are each being held in separate cells and no one is allowed to enter the site.
The statement emphasized: “It is said that after the widespread revelations by the Resistance about the presence of these hostages in Baghdad, Maliki is now using an alternative plan and has assigned a group of interrogators to interrogate the hostages for participation ‘in terrorism and murder and aiding terrorism’ and to fabricate cases against them.”
Al-Maliki’s denial is an obvious step towards deciding to extradite the hostages to the Iranian dictatorship.
The Iranian Resistance calls for the urgent intervention of the US President and Secretary of State to immediately free the hostages, and underscores that if these individuals are extradited, the US will bear the entire responsibility.
