Iran-Interlink reporting from London - Nejat [Rescue] Society, an Iranian NGO, has sent a delegation to London to brief policy and decision makers, human rights organisations and media on the US army handover of the Mojahedin-e Khalq's (MKO, MeK, NCRI, PMOI) military base, Camp Ashraf, to the Iraqi military on January 1st 2009.
Nejat delegation comprises: Mr. Babak Amin, Mr. Arash Sametipour, (former MKO-members), Mrs. Mahnaz Akafian Foroushani and Mrs. Narjes Khatoon Iranpour (relatives of Camp Ashraf captives). Their aim is to prevent further political abuse of the Mojahedin-e Khalq members in Camp Ashraf held captive by their leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi.
In a meeting yesterday with Mr. Hugo Swire, MP, Chair of the Conservative Middle East Council and Chair of the UAE All-Party Group, Nejat delegates described the worsening human rights situation for the remaining captives inside Camp Ashraf.
Arash Sametipour said, "The Iraqi government has given guarantees that none of the captives will be forced to return to Iran against their wishes. The most serious threat to those left in Camp Ashraf comes from the MKO cult's leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. They will want to use their blood to extricate themselves from this crisis."
Nejat is asking all UK agencies to cooperate with the Iraqi authorities to help restore basic human rights to the people trapped in Camp Ashraf.
Nejat's demands are that:
1. A separate camp is re-opened adjacent to Camp Ashraf to which people can escape and not be forced to continue as terrorists because there is no alternative. 2. The gates of the camp should be opened to allow doctors, families and humanitarian agencies free and unfettered access to the inmates.
Arash Sametipour said, "Every individual person in Camp Ashraf must be given the opportunity to decide for themselves - without pressure or interference from MKO personnel - whether to continue wearing military uniform, or to renounce violence and become civilians. The Iraqi authorities should open a separate camp where people can take refuge."
Nejat Society believes the captives should be given access to external information, internet, radio, television, books, newspapers and conversation. Above all, the people in Camp Ashraf must be helped to contact their families and enjoy family visits as soon as possible.
"Contact with their families re-connects the cult member with their emotions and provides a normal, trustworthy frame of reference in which they can reassess what the cult is telling them," explained Babak Amin.
Mrs. Iranpour told Mr Swire, "I visited the camp twice to see my brothers but the Americans army takes orders from the cult leaders. Once the Iraqi government is in control of Camp Ashraf, I hope it will be possible to freely visit our loved ones again."
Nejat Society is in London for two weeks.
For more information contact: Anne Singleton +44 (0) 113 278 0503
Nejat Society Visits Geneva With Camp Ashraf Rescue Plan
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:... A delegation from Nejat Society in Iran is in Geneva this week to participate in sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council and to meet with delegations from other international human rights organizations. Their aim is to prevent further political abuse of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO, MEK, NCRI) members in Camp Ashraf held captive by their leaders ...
A delegation from Nejat Society in Iran is in Geneva this week to participate in sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council and to meet with delegations from other international human rights organizations.
Their aim is to prevent further political abuse of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO, MEK, NCRI) members in Camp Ashraf held captive by their leaders, and guarantee the individual rights of those who renounce violence and are willing to return to society.
The delegation has also concerns about the removal from the camp of about 300 high ranking MKO members (wanted by Interpol) by the US army.
Nejat Society delegation comprises: Mr. Babak Amin, Mr. Arash Sametipoor, Ms. Marjan Malek and Ms. Ronak Dashti.
Arash Sametipoor said "the most serious threat to those left in Camp Ashraf comes from the MKO cult's leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. They will want to use their blood to extricate themselves from this crisis."
Babak Amin explained: "For over twenty years Ashraf has been inaccessible to the outside world. This has allowed the Rajavis to do whatever they liked behind closed doors. It is necessary now for humanitarian agencies to enter the camp to investigate what is really going on there. We need to discover how widespread the human rights abuses against the members are."
Now that the Iraqi government, the ICRC and UN human rights and refugee agencies have access to the remaining people in Camp Ashraf, Nejat is asking for their immediate protection.
Arash Sametipoor said, "Because these people have been abandoned by the MKO leaders, they must be considered now as ex-members of the terrorist cult.
It is clear the Iraqi authorities will not cooperate with the MKO to further suppress their members. We urge humanitarian agencies to now visit Camp Ashraf and restore basic human rights to the people trapped there."
Nejat Society wants every individual person in Camp Ashraf to be given the opportunity to decide for themselves - without pressure or interference from MKO personnel - whether they want to continue wearing military uniform, or whether they want to take off their military uniform and renounce violence. They should be given access to external information, internet, radio, television, books, newspapers and conversation. Above all, the people in Camp Ashraf must be helped to contact their families and enjoy family visits as soon as possible.
"Contact with their families re-connects the cult member with their emotions and provides a trustworthy frame of reference in which they can reassess what the cult is telling them", explained Babak Amin.
Mojahedin leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, and other leading members who have escaped the camp should be arrested and brought to justice through international courts.
Nejat Society believes that when the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated as individuals they will find places to go, especially if their families can be involved in helping them.
Iraqi MP: London should now take its soldiers out of our country - UK is fully responsible for any future terrorist act of Mojahedin Khalq http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4698
Report on the situation of remaining members of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation in Camp Ashraf after Consultation with Iraqi Government officials http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4095
Asghar Farzin, Reza Sadeghi, and Ali Biglary, former members of the MKO, plead for justice against the organisation to the Iraqi judicial authorities and urge them to deal with the situation in Ashraf camp http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4272
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