Source: BBC News
A Labour peer has accused Foreign Secretary David Miliband of maintaining "a shameful silence" on attacks on Iranian dissidents at a camp in Iraq.<\/p>\n
British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom chairman Lord Corbett hit out in a strongly-worded open letter. <\/p>\n
More than 3,000 people live in the Camp Ashraf, and supporters say several died in a raid by Iraqi security forces. <\/p>\n
The Foreign Office says officials will visit the camp soon and have written to Iraq's government over the matter. <\/p>\n
Those at the camp, which was previously under US control, are members of an exiled Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahadeen of Iran (PMOI). <\/p>\n
Their relatives and friends have been demonstrating outside the US Embassy in London for 60 days. Several are on hunger strike. <\/p>\n
Their case has won the backing of senior Church of England clergy, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.<\/p>\n
Lord Corbett wrote: "At Labour's conference you will rightly join the chorus of condemnation at Iran's menacing nuclear deception. <\/p>\n
"Then, why your shameful silence over the vicious assault Iran orchestrated Iraq to make two months ago on 3,500 Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf?" <\/p>\n
He described it as "a brutal assault on refugees who offered no more than passive resistance against 'security forces' armed with hand-held chains, axes, iron bars and wooden clubs embedded with nails as well as live ammunition". <\/p>\n
Lord Corbett claimed this raid, on 28 July, had left 11 dead and more than 500 injured. <\/p>\n
"Some 36 were arrested and remain detained despite court orders for their release. Is this the kind of democracy for which our government sent troops to die and be injured?" <\/p>\n
He said the UK had a responsibility to help ensure the safety and security of the refugees and called on Mr Miliband to try to ensure a UN monitoring force could go to the camp. <\/p>\n
Lord Corbett said a Foreign Office promise to send diplomats from the British Embassy to Ashraf had not materialised. <\/p>\n
"Speak out this week, David, please," he added. <\/p>\n
The Foreign Office said British officials visited the camp in April and June and would visit again soon. Britain's Ambassador in Baghdad had also asked the Iraqi government for a review of events on 28 July. <\/p>\n
Embassy officials had met US, UN and Iraqi counterparts to discuss the situation and were also in contact with the UN Commission on Human Rights, a spokesman added. <\/p>\n
Iraq said at the time of the raid that it was trying to establish a police station at the camp. <\/p>\n
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Source: BBC NewsA Labour peer has accused Foreign Secretary David Miliband of maintaining “a shameful silence” on attacks on Iranian dissidents at a camp in Iraq. British Parliamentary Committee for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-7213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-ashraf-liberty","7":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n