Camp Ashraf
[4] On September 1, 2013, an attack was directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conducted by Iranian proxy militias Kata'ib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, killing 52 civilians, with numerous prisoners being taken to Tehran following the raid.
The members of PMOI built it into a modern city with a complex of roads and buildings with many educational, social, medical, and sports facilities, manufacturing and agricultural works, and even a university.
[10][11][12] However, the MEK and Col. Leo McCloskey (former JIATF commander at Camp Ashraf) have denied these claims, calling them part of a misinformation campaign by the Iranian regime.
Despite threats of response, Iraq was not able to retaliate due to its own fight against Kurdish separatist guerillas and the Western-imposed no-fly zones that crippled and limited its air force's operations.
When the U.S. military formally gave control back to the Iraqi government in January 2009, it caused several issues, mainly where Iraq asked for the group to be handed over to them for prosecution.
[1] A State Department spokesman said the Government of Iraq had promised both humane treatment of people at Camp Ashraf and that none would be relocated to a country where they would have "a well-founded fear of persecution".
[28] In late July 2009 conflict erupted when Iraqi forces attempted to enter camp Ashraf to establish a police station without the consent of the MEK.
Some sources say Iraqi forces used violence, including gunfire, water cannons, and batons, killing eleven people and injuring about 400; two others later died from their wounds.
[29] Iraqi authorities denied using violent methods but said residents used stones, knives, and sharp tools to fight security forces that tried to enter the camp.
[31] In September 2009, in accordance with their mandate, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), led by Ad Melkert, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, started attempts for mediation between the residents and premier minister Al-Maliki's office.
[33] On December 10, 2009, the Iraqi government announced plans to move the MEK from Camp Ashraf to a former detention center, Neqrat al-Salman, about 200 miles (120 kilometers) west of Basra.
[38] UNAMI, led by the UN envoy Ad Melkert disputed Nouri al-Maliki's claim, saying that UN would not embrace the government's efforts to deport Ashraf residents by the end of 2011.
[39] In a 2010 report, Amnesty International said that "Following months of rising tension, Iraqi security forces forcibly entered and took control of Camp Ashraf ... on 28 and 29 July.
[43] In his quarterly report to the Security Council of 14 May 2010 pursuant to resolution 1883, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the rights of residents of Camp Ashraf, to protection against arbitrary displacement in Iraq or forced extradition to Iran.
[59] As a consequence of the April 8, 2011 attacks, UNAMI tried, between May and September 2011, to find a humanitarian solution via official bilateral meetings with Camp Ashraf resident's speakers respectively with the Government of Iraq.
[63] In the meantime, Maryam Rajavi, head of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), called for the new nominee to visit Ashraf and to demand Iraq drop its bid to close the camp by the end of 2011.
[65] Following a unilateral interpretation made by Premier Minister al-Maliki at the farewell meeting of 28 August 2011,[66] Ad Melkert reiterated that the UN "continues to advocate that Camp Ashraf residents be protected from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation contrary to the non-refoulment principle".
[72][73] This policy of Martin Kobler stood in contrast with the opinion of the competent body inside the UN, i.e. the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council, who had categorized, in his Opinion of May 2012, the status of the MEK residents in both Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty as Arbitrary detention and called the Iraqi government for the "immediate release and lifting of all restraints upon the free movements of these persons".
[75] However, the resulting draft report[76] stated that the UNHCR cannot "certify and/or verify that the above location meets Humanitarian Standards", "bearing in mind that these are thought for Refugees in Emergencies".
In fact, the shelter expert considered Camp Ashraf a community that was facing eviction from a site where they had lived for over 26 years, which is different from a situation of emergencies like a civil war or a natural disaster.
Iranian residents of Camp Liberty and their representatives and lawyers appealed to the UN Secretary-General and U.S. officials to let them return to Ashraf, which they say has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection.
[80] In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored "the tragic events at Camp Ashraf" and said Baghdad should "promptly investigate the incident and disclose the findings.
