FoFI calls on Iraqi government to respect the rights of Iranian Mojahedin

August 09, 2007

NCRI - Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI), Intergroup in the European Parliament in a statement said that it is deeply shocked by the strange remarks made by Mr. Noori Al-Maliki, current Prime Minister of Iraq, on the status of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).

Friends of a Free Iran called on the Iraqi government to respect the rights of the PMOI members under international law, as demanded by the European Parliament in a resolution adopted unanimously on July 12, 2007.

Text of statement by Friends of a Free Iran:

Respect the rights of PMOI members in Iraq under international law

Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament (FoFI) is deeply shocked by the strange remarks made by Mr. Noori Al-Maliki, current Prime Minister of Iraq, on the status of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran ( PMOI), currently residing in Iraq.On Monday, August 6, 2007, on the eve of his most recent and regular trips to Tehran, he once again repeated his intentions to please the ruling mullahs in Iran and said, "The presence of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran in Iraq is a threat to Iran's national security. This organisation is on the list of terrorist organisations and its presence on our soil is against Iraq's constitution."

It is a common knowledge who is behind the daily barbaric murders in Iraq. On Sunday the deputy U.S. commander in Iraq Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, blamed Iran for providing the Shiite militia with arms and training and said they were responsible for nearly three-quarters of attacks that killed or wounded Americans in Baghdad last month.

Mr. Maliki describes the PMOI in Iraq as a security threat to the Iranian regime. He should make his priorities clear; is it to safeguard the Iranian regime's security or that of the Iraqi people who are daily victims of terrorist agents of that regime.

In a resolution adopted unanimously on July 12, 2007, the European Parliament strongly rejected the threats of expulsion and cutting off supplies of fuel and drinking water made by senior officials in the Iraqi Government against members of the PMOI who had been "political refugees in Iraq for the past 20 years." The resolution reiterated the legal status of the PMOI members who are recognized as "Protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Invoking the terrorist label and the terror lists in order to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention and infringe the rights of refugees is unlawful and has been rejected by judicial authorities and European courts on several occasions. Senior US officials have also stated that they had found no link between Ashraf residents and terrorism. We therefore underline the demand by the European Parliament and call on the Iraqi government to respect the rights of the PMOI members under
international law.

Friends of a Free Iran
European Parliament
8 August 2007