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Iran regime & Maliki plot to deceive US UN on seven Camp Ashraf hostages

Preparing ground for extradition or killing of the hostages by inducing the lie that they are not in Iraq

According to undeniable intelligence and details presentable in a court of law, hostages are still in Iraq and under control of Maliki’s special forces; U.S. and UN should act immediately to free them

• The Iranian Resistance calls on UN and U.S. to immediately visit Sharaf Prison and also to interview 42 survived Camp Ashraf residents

NCRI – From the very first days after the massacre and mass executions of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf on September 1, based on accurate detailed and undeniable information, the Iranian Resistance announced that the seven Camp Ashraf residents taken hostage are in Iraq and under the control of Maliki’s special forces.

Moreover, the Iranian Resistance constantly has disclosed new details on their whereabouts, conditions of detention, and forces involved in this matter calling for immediate intervention by U.S. and UN to secure their release.

Reciprocally, clerical regime and Maliki resorted to a joint scenario and through dissemination of false and misleading information have been attempting to convey this notion to U.S. and UN that the hostages are not in Iraq and have been transferred to Iran from the very beginning.

The objective is to reduce international pressure on Government of Iraq to give it a free hand to extradite or kill the hostages.

Another goal they are pursuing is to save Maliki and his collaborators from political and legal consequences of this great crime against humanity.

To this end, the clerical regime, government of Iraq, and some international partners are also attempting to advance this absurd scenario that the September 1 attack has been implemented by Iraqi militias through their infiltration in Iraqi security apparatuses and that Maliki not only had no role in it, but is quite upset of this infringement on Iraq’s sovereignty.

Iranian Resistance has credible documents and information and trustable witnesses that beyond a shadow of doubt proves that the massacre and mass execution in Camp Ashraf has been perpetrated by personal orders from Maliki and his Security Advisor Faleh al-Fayyaz at the behest of the Iranian regime and that the hostages are inside Iraq and are in control of Maliki’s special forces until this day ( Friday, September 27).

These documents and evidence are presentable to any court of law and the witnesses are prepared to testify if their security is guaranteed. In the following we shall refer to some of the details:

1. Since a while back, Khamenei had tasked the Qods Force to implement the plan of this massacre through government of Iraq. Given the developments in Syria, on Tuesday, August 27, Commander of the terrorist Qods Force Gassem Soleimani hurriedly went to Iraq. He met with Maliki and his Security Advisor Faleh al-Fayyaz around midnight and told them the timetable to attack Ashraf.

2. On August 31, a meeting was held at Khalis Police Center for the final study of the assault plan and to make final coordination. In this meeting, Commander of Diyala Police, Commander of Diyala Operations, Commander of 5th Division stationed in Diyala, Commander of Ashraf protection force, Commander of the Federal Police in Diyala, Director of Khalis Police, and several military and security commanders from Baghdad participated. Ali Ghaidan, Commander of the Iraqi Army, also participated in this meeting via telephone communication.

3. To make preparations for the assault, from some time ago, a group of intelligence agents from the Iraqi prime ministry were stationed in Ashraf, including Major Ahmed Khozair and Captain Haidar Azab, two criminals involved in the massacre of Ashraf residents in 2009 and 2011 who get their orders directly from the Iraqi Prime Ministry. Three weeks prior to the assault, to facilitate the slaughter plan, they cut off Ashraf’s water and electricity to force residents to gather in a limited area to save on their water and electricity. In the days prior to the assault, these two criminal Iraqi officers used to take a group of men from the assault force for reconnaissance purposes behind Ashraf’s northern berm. These men who were wearing masks assessed entry points, routes for the assault, and places of assembly of residents.

4. At Midnight on August 31 (five hours before the assault), Commander of Diyala Police Major General Jamil Shemeri who directly receives his orders from Maliki’s Office, went to Ashraf and got stationed in the rapid deployment police force headquarters and made necessary coordination with Colonel Nahad, Commander of the rapid deployment police force in Ashraf, to begin the attack. Beforehand he had sent a number of officers of the battalion protecting Ashraf on forced furlough to deprive them of information on details of the attack and its perpetrators.

5. The assaulting force belonged to Maliki’s Golden Division who had been transferred to Ashraf from Baghdad a few hours prior to the attack. Under supervision of Jamil Shemeri, they were transferred behind the northern berm of Street 100. This division is composed of professional killers whom Americans call the Dirty Division. A comparison between official picture of Maliki’s special forces and pictures and video footages of part of the assaulting force vividly shows the affiliation of this force.

An 8-man group, expert in planting explosives from the Dirty Division, went to Ashraf from Baghdad prior to the attack and they were briefed by the intelligence on the start of the operation. They carried out over 200 explosions in Ashraf.

6. On September 1, CNN website quoted “two officials with Iraq’s Interior Ministry”: “security forces raided Camp Ashraf after their base was hit by mortar rounds. The officials said there were casualties from the raid, but they said they could provide no further details.” Reuters reported on the same day quoting “two Iraqi security sources” that “army and special forces had opened fire on residents.” Reuters added that these two sources “believed residents were not armed”.

7. Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence news agency (Mehr), on September 1st quoted Minister of Intelligence after a cabinet meeting: “It is a long time that there were outstanding issues between government of Iraq and those who are occupying Ashraf Base. These people always confronted Iraq’s sovereignty. Therefore, there is this probability that in this case the Iraqi government has been forced to confront the terrorists residing in Ashraf Base.” Only hours later, this report published by both Ministry of Intelligence news agency and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) news agency of Qods, were hurriedly omitted.

8. According to the operation plan, Maliki’s Dirty Division forces were to abduct at least 12 of the residents and kill all the remaining people. However, they were unsuccessful in getting to some of the resident, plus they were unable to arrest all those they had planned to. On that same day, IRGC announced that 70 members of PMOI have been killed and Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the terrorist Qods Force, told the Assembly of Experts that 10 PMOI members are lost. (State news agencies)

9. After their arrest, the seven hostages were transferred behind the berm north of Street 100 with two vehicles that belonged to the residents. The route for these two vehicles to get behind the berm was necessarily through Tulips Square in Camp Ashraf’s main street where Iraqi forces are present round the clock and no passing through is possible without their knowledge and permission. A picture of residents’ vehicle deserted on the other side of the berm is attached. From the other side of the berm, hostages were taken to Khalis and then from Khalis to Baghdad in seven black state vehicles of Toyota Land-cruisers with tinted windows and with escorts from the Dirty Division. This column has been seen on its way from Ashraf to Baghdad by villagers living around Ashraf and residents of villages living between Khalis and Baghdad.

10. The hostages were first transferred to a location inside Baghdad Green Zone which is specifically allocated to the Prime Ministry. Then, after 2-3 days they were taken from this place to the prison of ‘Dirty Division’ in Baghdad Airport. In order to exert all the more pressure, hostages were separated from each other and put in separate cells.

11. Presence of hostages at this prison was kept strictly confidential and very few individuals knew about it. Maliki has ordered commanders of this division and all others who know about the hostages to pretend they have no information about their conditions and where they are being held. Iraqi officials have been briefed to tell all international stakeholders that government of Iraq has no relation whatsoever with the case of hostages.

12. On Sunday, September 22, hostages were transferred to a prison called ‘Sharaf’ in Baghdad Green Zone, located behind Prime Ministry Office, in special vehicles that had gone to the Dirty Division to transfer them. Sharaf Prison is a dreaded prison used by Maliki’s ‘Combating Terrorism’ apparatus with the terrorist Qods Force having an active presence there.

13. Maliki has ordered that right after the transfer of the hostages from Dirty Division prison, UN be invited to go to Division headquarters for an inspection and see and check everywhere, including the Dirty Division prisons and their registration books and see for themselves that the hostages are not there. One of the reasons for the transfer the hostages from the Dirty Division was to keep them away from UN view and other referrals during these days made to the government.

14. By allocating a group of its henchmen, Maliki intends to extract information and false confessions from the hostages to be used to cast false accusations against the PMOI during its 27 years of stay in Iraq. He has ordered hostages be placed under severe pressures for the purpose.

15. The terrorist Qods Force and mullahs’ regime ambassador in Baghdad are planning and making coordination with Iraqi officials to dispatch interrogators and torturers to Baghdad from Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence.

16. Kamel Amin, speaker of the so-called Ministry of Human Rights of Iraq, declared on September 12: “The security forces have arrested these people (the seven hostages) because of the attack against them (the security forces).” (Free Iraq Radio – 12 September 2013) Beladi TV which belongs to the coalition ruling Iraq announced on September 4: “Iraqi security forces are interrogating a number of members of PMOI based on allegations that they are involved in terrorist-related issues. A security source said that officials have arrested seven members of this organization on legal grounds.”

17. The UN High Commissioner for refugees, in its September 13 statement declared: “According to reports reaching UNHCR, seven individuals formerly residing in Camp New Iraq disappeared from the Camp on 1 September, are being held somewhere in Iraq and may be at risk of being returned involuntarily to Iran. These seven are all known by UNHCR to be asylum-seekers, and the agency hopes to have an opportunity to interview them.” In similar statements on September 24, the UNHCR spokesperson once again reiterated on these points.

18. Ms. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union, wrote in her letter of September 19: “we have reason to believe that up to seven camp residents are being held in captivity near Baghdad, and that there is a significant risk that they could be sent to Iran.”

19. Eyewitness accounts by the 42 PMOI members who escaped the September 1 massacre clearly show this reality that the assault forces were affiliated with government of Iraq and that hostages have also been abducted by these same forces and taken away.

20. This is not the first time that through dissemination of false and misleading intelligence, the Iranian regime and its elements in Iraq attempt to divert international policies, especially the U.S. government, regarding issues in the region. Iranian regime’s misleading information on the imaginary weapons of mass destruction of Iraq’s previous regime and false allegations that these weapons are in PMOI bases in Iraq… were among these fabrications and deceptions that the international community and people in the region paid an exorbitant price for with countless victims.

Due to various and numerous sources at different levels and sectors, the Iranian Resistance is certain about the exactness and credibility of its information and has not a shred of doubt that the hostages are still in Iraq and can defend this matter in front of any authority. Regrettably, up to this point, neither the U.S. government nor United Nations have taken any effective measures in the form of a serious investigation regarding the condition of the hostages. At a time that for a duration of two weeks the Resistance declared reports of the presence of the hostages in the Dirty Division’s prison, U.S. and UN did not conduct a visit of this prison and up to this point they have not spoken with any of the remaining people from the massacre that can provide effective assistance to the understanding of the matter.

Therefore, while reiterating on the responsibility of the U.S. government and the United Nations regarding the lives and security of the hostages, the Iranian Resistance calls on them to conduct a snap inspection of “Sharaf” prison before government of Iraq has a chance to relocate these hostages, to meet and conduct interviews with the 42 remaining residents of the September 1 massacre who are now in Camp Liberty, and to immediately intervene to free the hostages.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 27, 2013