Honorable Nouri al-Maliki
Prime Minister of Iraq
Office of the Prime Minister
Baghdad,
Iraq
Sep 28, 2009
Mr. Prime Minister,
On behalf of Friends of a Free Iran Committee (FOFI) in Norway, we condemn the
imprisonment of 36 residents of Camp Ashraf, home to the members of the main Iranian
opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) in Iraq.
Two months ago, these individuals were taken hostage by the Iraqi police during an
illegal and vicious attack on the residents of Camp Ashraf.

Today, an Iraqi court in Khalis, Iraq issued a verdict of acquittal for the detainees. The
latest court order by the judge is the final and definite verdict which cannot be appealed.
Although the arrest of these 36 individuals has been illegal and arbitrary from the
beginning, the Iraqi Police has, in accordance with governmental policies, refused to
release the detainees despite three consecutive court orders.

The detainees, in protest to their arrest and the horrible attack on their home by Iraqi
forces, have been on a hunger strike now for more than two months. Several of them
were injured by Iraqi forces during the attack on July 28 and are in a critical health
condition. Subsequently Amnesty International has addressed this urgent situation in
several statements.

Consequently we would like to point out that we hold the Iraqi government responsible
for the physical condition and the lives of the detainees and demand their immediate
release.

By such improper and irreprehensible behavior, the Iraqi government has demonstrated a blatant violation of human rights and international laws. ”Iraqi government’s action” can not under any circumstances justify violation of the rights of PMOI members in Ashraf.

Finally I ask you to immediately intervene and release all 36 detainees and respect
democratic laws.

We are looking forward for your immediate action on this urgent matter.

Respectfully,
Lars Rise
General Secretary
Friends of Free Iran – Norway

Morten Hoglund
Member of the Foreign affairs committee
Norwegian Parliament

Oyvind Vaksdal
Member of the Foreign affairs committee
Norwegian Parliament

Bjorn Jackobsen
Member of the Defense committee
Norwegian Parliament
CC:
Honourable Hoshyar Zebari
H.E. Mr. Medhat Al Mahmoud
Ambassador Christopher R. Hill
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno,
Ambassador Christopher R. Hill