In a letter to General David Petraeus, MNFI Commander, The International Committee of Jurists in Defence of Ashraf ( ICJDA), on behalf of 8500 European jurists and lawyers, called Ali Dabbagh’s remarks against the People’s Mojahedin organization of Iran (PMOI) flagrant violation of international conventions including International Humanitarian Law, Fourth Geneva Convention and non-refoulement principle and stressed:

This position by Mr. Dabbagh is a reflection of the hysteric reaction and an act of vengeance by the operatives of the religious fascism ruling Iran towards the declaration signed by 3,000,000 Iraqi Shiites, widely reported by the Arabic and international media over the pass few days.

Parts of the letter reads:
(We) express our concerns in the International Committee of Jurists in Defence of Ashraf (lCJDA), over the remarks made by Mr. Ali Dabbagh, Iraqi government’s spokesman, regarding the expulsion of the residents of Ashraf City from Iraq.

In a clear violation of international conventions such as the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Fourth Geneva Convention, principle of non-refoulement and Common Article three of the Geneva Conventions, Mr. Dabbagh said, PMOI is a terrorist organization and must be expelled from Iraq… and must be placed under the complete control of Iraq’. He added, “It is forbidden to have any cooperation with the PMOI, for all Iraqi or foreign organizations, political parties, institutions and individuals” and “ anti-terrorism laws will be applied to all those who cooperate with them and by law they will be prosecuted by the judiciary system”. He also stated, “Multi- National Forces- Iraq (MNF-l) must hand this organization and every matter relevant to it, including al the checkpoints, over to the Iraqi government” as well as “activate all the legal flies against members of this organization who have committed crimes against the people of Iraq.

This position by Mr. Dabbagh is a reflection of the hysteric reaction and an act of vengeance by the operatives of the religious fascism ruling Iran towards the declaration signed by 3,000,000 Iraqi Shiites, widely reported by the Arabic and international media over the pass few days.
The declaration strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq, called for the eviction of the Iranian regime from Iraq and closure of its embassy and all institutions representing it in that country. It also voices support for the continued presence of the PMOI in Iraq.

The hysteric tirade by Mr Dabbagh over the declaration by the Iraqi Shiites came despite the fact that he did not utter a world in objection to such terrorist crimes against the PMOI as the abduction of the PMOI members, the assassination of innocent Iraqi citizens who were in contact with the PMOI, the bombing of the water pumping station of Ashraf and even the missile attack on Ashraf on 26th May this year.

As you are aware, in addition to the MNF-l, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the other relevant international sources have reiterated that the PMOI members are ‘protected persons’ who are entitled to the rights specified by the IHL, principle of non-refoulement and the Common Article three of the Geneva Conventions, and that their forceful expulsion from or displacement inside Iraq is unlawful and forbidden.

The letter added:
In view of the fact that these unlawful remarks and obviously hysteric tirade by the Iraqi government’s spokesman will undoubtedly prepare the grounds for the resumption of terrorist and missile attacks on Camp Ashraf, which could lead to a human catastrophe, we request that you condemn these remark, which violate international law, International Humanitarian Law as well as the principle of non-refoulement, and reaffirm the need and the commitment of the MNF-I to protect the residents of Ashraf.