MPs, human rights activists and churches rally in support of Iranian refugees in Iraq

MPs, human rights activists and churches on Monday rallied in support of 3,500 Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf in Iraq. At a press conference in Parliament, three Iranians on hunger strike spoke movingly about the plight of their relatives in Ashraf.

Other speakers included: Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, Claire Miskin (Head of chambers at Three Dr Johnson's Buildings), Margaret Owen (Barrister and head of Widows for Peace and Democracy), Baroness Stefania von Kories zu Goetzen (Vice chair of the Conservatives of the West-End), Rev. Lindsay Meader (Anglican Church in Piccadilly), and the NCRI's UK representative Ms. Dowlat Nowrouzi.

Lord Carlile of Berriew QC said: "I am here because I have followed what has been happening in Camp Ashraf in recent weeks with mounting shock and a degree of despair. There has been very little publicity in the UK and I am bemused by the reason why this story has been whispered from journalist to journalist but not featured as a major humanitarian scandal in the UK media. It seems to me that whatever undertakings were given by the Iraqi government to the American government when the security of Camp Ashraf was ceded to the Iraqi government have plainly been broken. At the time of the events there were American troops stationed in Camp Ashraf who did nothing whatsoever. The level of protest by Western governments and international organisations has been low. And the effect of the protests, such as they have been, has been almost zero."

Claire Miskin said: "In Iran it is quite common for women, who we would regard as children at the ages of 12-16, to be arrested, held in prison, and used as prostitutes usually by the regime which protests so much about purity. This is the sort of thing that the women in Camp Ashraf are protesting against."

"There can be no possible, even practical, justification for the manner in which the Iraqis stormed Camp Ashraf. This was the class of things we saw in Hitler's Germany. They went in armed to the teeth to attack a defenceless civilian people in Camp Ashraf. Why did they have to go in with guns, tanks, sticks, and axes?

"From 1947 to 1962 the UN worked hard to pass treaties in defence of the rights of women. One of the articles of the Declaration on Human Rights specifically provided for the protection of women and children. The invasion of Ashraf is unlawful internationally and under the Iraqi constitution itself," Ms. Miskin said.

Mrs Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, sent a video-taped message to the conference.

Margaret Owen, a member of the Bar Human Rights Committee, said: The attack on Camp Ashraf was shocking and monstrous. The residents of Camp Ashraf are ‘protected persons' under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The attack on the camp was a pogrom of a level of a Nazi pogrom and it was against the 4th Geneva Convention. I have to say that I have nothing but shame why are own media has been so silent.

The women in Ashraf are so brave. They are no longer alone since today the people of Iran are standing up to the regime.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-MalikiNuri al-Maliki is guilty of gross violations of crimes against humanity under international law and International Humanitarian Law.

Baroness Stefania Kories said: I want to lend my support to the courageous men and women in the camp who withstood such brutality. What happened on the afternoon of 28 July to the unarmed men and women of Ashraf City was nothing short of a crime against humanity. I was however particularly touched by the heroic role of the women, who even though entirely unarmed, stood bravely in the face of axes, sickles, logs, rocks and gun fire. They stood determined, as they struggled for their people, in the knowledge that Iran will one day in the not too distant future be free."

"I call on our government, the government of the United States and the United Nations to intervene at the camp as a matter of urgency to prevent further bloodshed and massacres from taking place," she said.

Ms. Dowlat Nowrouzi said: "The uprising in Iran is the best indication of how the mullahs are engulfed in crisis and how this movement worked to unify the various sectors of society against the regime. In spite of brutal suppression by the Revolutionary Guards and the Bassijis the mullahs can not stop the uprising in Iran. In order for them to cover this up, they attacked Ashraf."

"The Iraqi government signed an agreement with the American forces that they would continue to protect the Ashraf residents. The savage attack on 28 July was the best indication that the Iraqi forces are not there to protect these people. They are there to demolish and disband the Iranian opposition movement which is the source of inspiration for the Iranian people. The attack on Ashraf residents was a crime against humanity."

"World politics cannot go on passive and inactive to a genocide. The world community needs to be firm and decisive in dealing with the inhumane demands of the regime. The people responsible including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and many agents in the security forces must be brought to justice at an international tribunal for attacking Camp Ashraf. These Iraqi forces and criminals must leave Camp Ashraf. The US must not rely on baseless assurances of the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government have to respect the ‘protected persons' status of the Ashraf residents under the 4th Geneva Convention.

It is the responsibility of the US, UN, and UK as part of the Coalition to stop the massacre and to pressure the Iraqis to leave the camp. The UN should send a mission to guarantee the security and safety of Ashraf residents.

Rev. Lindsay Meader said: "I am particularly disturbed by reports that following the atrocities in Camp Ashraf, the residents are being denied the opportunity to bury their dead. What has happened in Camp Ashraf is a tragedy".

"I want to honour the courage of the hunger strikers here and their love for their relatives and country men and women in Ashraf. An audience has been requested with the Archbishop of Canterbury, I hope this will happen very soon", she said.

London lawyer Azadeh Zabeti said: "There is a process being undertaken for the formation of a women's lawyers committee drawing its members from Europe, the US, Canada and Australia in defence of the 1,000 women in Camp Ashraf. The committee is presently being structured. It will be responsible for protecting the human rights of the people in the camp and monitoring the situation in the camp and pursuing the perpetrators of the massacre there. We have a message to the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that he and his thugs are being watched and this is something that he should take note of .

Fatemeh Khezri, who has been on hunger strike for 21 days, said: "We all watched what happened in Camp Ashraf on 28-30 July. The violence by the Iraqi forces was unprecedented and barbaric. If this is the democracy that the US and UK wanted for the Iraqi people, then what a waste of those soldiers lives. We need action now. We need these countries who speak of civilisations to do something. One of those 1000 women in Ashraf is my sister. They are all my sisters. I cannot accept personally this kind of violence in the 21st Century. We are talking of civilisations. But inaction is different."

Khalil Shahrokhi, another Iranian hunger striker, said: "Three months ago I got a visa from the Iraqi embassy and I went to visit my three sisters and two cousins in Ashraf. The Iraqi soldiers did not let me see my family there. From that time I felt there is going to be a big disaster. Today one of my cousins is in the hands of the Iraqi soldiers."

"I am a father of two small children, I have my own business. I cannot accept these things happening to my friends in Ashraf. I started a hunger strike. I will continue until Ashraf people get their rights or I will die outside the US embassy. Maybe this will open some people's eyes."

Ms. Sudabeh Heydari, a third hunger striker at the press conference, said: "I am 19 years old and on hunger strike. I used to be a student in Manchester. Last year when I heard about the hardships in Ashraf, I came to London to help as a volunteer."

"I came from Iran two years ago. My uncle was executed for taking part in a simple protest. What is happening in Ashraf is a similar situation to Iran. I am here today to ask the US government why they are in silence. Fundamentalism is a danger for the whole of the world. If the mullahs get rid of Ashraf and get atomic weapons then they will try and destroy your people too. I would like to ask Foreign Secretary David MilibandDavid Miliband why he is silent. There are UK residents among the people in Ashraf. You know 1,000 of them are women. Their lives are in danger. I am on hunger strike until they take action. Maybe we die in front of US embassy but maybe then they take action," she said.

Note to editors: Iraqi police late last month savagely attacked the unarmed civilian population in Ashraf, killing 11 people and injuring nearly 500 others. Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, the Law Society, the Bar Council, and the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom have condemned the attack. Please see this link for footage of the Iraqi police's crime against humanity at Camp Ashraf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CJxMaN4C4A (7 minutes)