In a letter to General Petraeus, MNF-I Commander, Committee of Friends of a Free Iran in European Parliament wrote: “Any transfer of protection of Camp Ashraf residents, who are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and enjoy all the rights stipulated in International Human Rights Law and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, would amount to a grave breach of International Humanitarian Law and the non-refoulement principle, because it would subject these ’protected persons’ to inconceivable risks and dangers.”

The excerpts of the letter sent by Paulo Casaca, Member of the European Parliament and the Co-Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran, read:

“Dear General Petraeus,
We are writing to you on behalf of the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament to share with you a matter of great importance to us. We have been informed that the Government of the United States and the Multi-National Force-Iraq are planning to transfer the protection of 3,500 residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraqi Province of Diyala to the Iraqi government.

We are extremely concerned about this development, not least because Iraqi officials have repeatedly called for the expulsion of the residents of Ashraf from Iraq. Most notable among these was the official directive by the Iraqi Council of Ministers on June 17, 2008, which not only demanded that the protection of Ashraf be placed under Iraqi government security forces, but also reiterated that the government planned to expel the residents of Ashraf. And two weeks later, on July 3, the Iraqi government spokesman, Mr. Ali Dabbagh,
said that arrest warrants for the leaders of the PMOI had been issued .

Of course, there is hardly any doubt that the demands by the Iraqi government to take control of Ashraf are the result of pressures put on that government by the regime in Tehran, which views the PMOI not only as a threat but also as a major impediment to its nefarious designs on Iraq.

In a letter on March 20, 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross underscored the “obligation to act in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement, when transferring persons to another State or authority.” It also reiterated that “the residents of Camp Ashraf must not be deported, expelled or repatriated in violation of the above-mentioned principle or displaced inside Iran in violation of the relevant provisions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).” Similarly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged “the Multinational Forces (MNF-I) from any action that could endanger the life or the security of these individuals (Camp Ashraf residents), such as their forcible deportation from Iraq or their forced displacement inside Iraq.”

In this light, I am certain that you will agree that any transfer of protection of Camp Ashraf residents, who are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and enjoy all the rights stipulated in International Human Rights Law and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, would amount to a grave breach of International Humanitarian Law and the non-refoulement principle, because it would subject these ’protected persons’ to inconceivable risks and dangers.

We would appreciate it if you could allay our concerns and those of many of our colleagues in the European Parliament by reaffirming that the MNF-I will continue to provide protection for the residents of Ashraf so long as U.S. forces are present in Iraq.

We very much look forward to hearing from you on this extremely serious matter and assure you of the expression of our highest regards.”