Iran opposition group warns US that expulsion would be a war crime

Agence France Presse
December 12, 2003
BY: MARTIN BENNITT

NICOSIA, Dec 12 - Iran's opposition People's Mujahedeen group said Friday it had told the US authorities that any attempt by Iraq's US-controlled Governing Council to expel thousands of its members to Iran would be a war crime for which Washington would be responsible.

Some 4,000-5,000 of the Mujahedeen, which mounted attacks inside Iran from neighbouring Iraq when Saddam Hussein was in power, have been disarmed since the US-led invasion and are now guarded by US troops in their base of Camp Ashraf, east of the capital.
Earlier this week the Governing Council said it planned to expel the Mujahedeen, whom it accused of terrorism, by December 31. On Thursday a member of the council said Iraq's interim rulers are considering handing them over to the very Iranian authorities they have been fighting to overthrow.

A Swiss international law expert acting for the Mujahedeen, Professor Marc Henzelin, told AFP he had written Thursday to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and top military officials warning them that such a move would be a war crime under the terms of the Geneva Convention.

As the occupying power in Iraq, the United States would bear the responsibility, and would face legal action in US, Swiss or other courts.

"I am totally convinced that the legal experts of the US military will reach exactly the same conclusion," Henzelin said, noting that when they agreed to be disarmed in September the Mujahedeen put themselves under US military protection.

He said the Governing Council did not have the means to carry out its decision on its own, but would require the consent and cooperation of US forces for any deportation.

A statement issued by the Mujahedeen also said the handing over of the Mujahedeen to the Islamic republic "would be a war crime and a crime against humanity."

Washington must provide the "relevant protection offered to members of the (Mujahedeen) by the Geneva Convention, which categorizes them as civilians.

"Any transfer or deportation of (Mujahedeen) members outside the territory of Iraq to any country, and in particular to Iran, is prohibited under the laws of war applicable to the present occupation," it said.

The statement also said deportation would violate an international treaty binding states not to "expel, return or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture."

It called on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, all the member states of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to "maintain a vigilant eye on the developing situation in Iraq with regard to the status of (Mujahedeen) members who are refugees in Iraq."

Iran greeted the expulsion decision as "very positive" and said the Islamic republic would show "leniency" to low-ranking members wishing to give themselves up.

The authorities said nothing about how middle- and high-ranking members would be treated, but have said in the past they would be dealt with harshly.

Governing Council member Nuredin Dara told AFP on Thursday: "It's better for them to ask for forgiveness from Iran. I think Iran will be understanding.

"If we deliver them to Iran I think (Tehran) will issue a general amnesty. The country may forgive them for the crimes they committed against Iran and accept them back again in their country."

Dara denied that the Mujahedeen had been sacrificed in the interest of better ties with Iran or that they would likely be executed upon their return.

He accused them of allowing themselves to be used "as a means for Saddam Hussein to execute the crimes of killing and slaughtering," notably of Kurds.

A Mujahedeen official, denying the allegations of terrorism, said the move showed Iran was exerting a malevolent influence on the Governing Council, 24 of whose 25 members had recently visited Tehran.

"As long as the fundamentalist regime remains in power in Iran, democracy in Iraq is an illusion," he said.

The official also noted that "quite a few members" of the Mujahedeen in Camp Ashraf had US or other citizenship and families living in the United States and elsewhere in the West.