Stop Fundamentalism- World’s human rights body, Amnesty International, in a public statement released on 23 July, urged the government of Iraq to cease harassments of the residents in Camp Ashraf who are Iranian exiles and members of the Iran’s main opposition movement Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI).
The rights body also called on Iraq to ensure resident’s “unhindered access to medical care and humanitarian needs.”
“This new challenge to the existence of Camp Ashraf follows months in which the residents have come under increasing pressure from the Iraqi authorities,” says Amnesty in its statement.
Amnesty International, as the main international organization observing human rights abuses around world, has repeatedly called on Iraq’s government to respect the rights of Ashraf residents during the two years since the protection of the camp has been transferred from Americans to Iraqi forces in 2009.
“Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded,” says Amnesty.