This court, which was founded seven years ago to prosecute Iraqi figures in the former regime, announced last year that it was no longer taking judicial cases, but has unexpectedly issued an arrest warrant against leaders of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI) who reside in Camp Ashraf. By doing this, the court surpassed its jurisdiction.
The court used as a cover the US Administration’s decision in 1997 which put the PMOI on its list of terrorists. The same decision was also referred to in order to justify the attack by Iraqi forces on Camp Ashraf last year, leaving many unarmed civilians dead and wounded.
However, this court ruling might be challenged, since the US court of appeals is examining the legal grounds used to pronounce that decision, which will open new political horizons in the way the Americans approach the organisation.
As well as helping in shaping a new US attitude towards the PMOI in light of the current nuclear crisis in Iraq, this appeal may serve as a warning to the outgoing Iraqi government about the necessity to change its approach toward Camp Ashraf.