Urgent Call on UK, US and UN to Force Iraq to Stop its Criminal Siege of Camp Ashraf Residents

LONDON, August 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Water, electricity and entry of food to Camp Ashraf have been cut off by Al-Maliki's Special Forces

The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom has been informed of new outrageous repressive actions by the Iraqi forces to cut off water and electricity to Iranian dissidents living in Camp Ashraf since 10 August at the behest of the Iranian theocratic regime. They have also prevented the entry of food stuffs into the camp.

The water and electricity cut-off in the hot Iraqi summer, at over 50 degrees Celsius, is a criminal act that could lead to the loss of human life.

A number of agents of the Iranian regime's Quds Force, are supervising the implementation of these atrocities.

According to an official letter by the UN Secretary General's Special Representative dated 6 September 2012, one hundred residents will remain in Camp Ashraf until all of their property in Ashraf is sold. However, Iraq's aim through its criminal measure is to force the 100 Camp Ashraf residents to give in so that they could seize the residents' property and carry out another massacre.

The plight of the 3,000 Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty, where they lack basic safety and security and have been the target of three rocket attacks in the past six months, has lead to mounting calls from inside and outside Iraq to return them to their former home of Camp Ashraf.  These demands have even been acknowledged in a statement from Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights on August 21.  But now the Iraqi authorities - at the bidding of the Iranian regime - have cut off water, power and food supplies to Ashraf in a desperate attempt to demoralize those who demand the return of Liberty residents to the safety of Ashraf.

Cutting off water, electricity and food to refugees who are protected persons under international law constitutes a crime against humanity and the perpetrators must face justice and be held accountable.

We call on the UK and US governments and the UN to ensure the safety and security of the Ashraf residents and to force Al-Maliki to abide by international law and to end this criminal siege immediately by reconnecting the water and electricity and allowing the entry of food.

British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom