AKI, Rome, 8 October, 2009 – Iranian dissidents have welcomed Iraq’s release of 36 hostages who were released on the 72nd day of a hunger strike in protest at their detention in late July following deadly clashes with Iraqi security forces at Camp Ashraf refugee camp in northern Iraq. A number of the dissidents were transferred to Ashraf Hospital owing to their debilitated condition after the hunger strike and the injuries they sustained at the hands of Iraqi security force members, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran dissent group said in a statement. Several of the hunger-strikers had fallen into a coma before their release late on Wednesday.

The PMOI claims most of them were on the verge of death after seven days of a dry hunger-strike. The 36 dissidents have now called off their hunger-strike but have vowed to start a new one should the security and well-being of Camp Ashraf’s residents be compromised in the future. Their months-long detention had continued despite several court orders for their release, the first of which was issued on 23 August. They continued to be held on charges of illegal entry into Iraq 23 years ago. ’Obviously, we are delighted. But we will continue our fight for a United Nations monitoring team to protect Camp Ashraf’s residents and prevent further attacks,’ said Mahmoud Hakamian, a PMOI official based in the Italian capital, Rome.

The refugee camp has since 1986 been home to over 3,000 Iranian dissidents, who are committed to overthrowing the rule of the Mullahs in Iran. They dissidents had refugee status since 2003 then they laid down their arms following the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. Responsibility for security at Camp Ashraf was handed to Iraqi forces in January. The PMOI says eleven residents died and five hundred were injured during the deadly clashes broke out at the camp on 28-30 July when Iraqi police tried to set up a police station inside the camp. PMOI president-elect Maryam Rajavi thanked other Iranian compatriots, Iraqi politicians and tribal leaders, members of parliaments, jurists, religious leaders and international human rights organisations across the globe for their efforts to release the 36 hostages, which included hunger-strikes and sit-ins. ’All of the released PMOI members were beaten and wounded and seven of them were unconscious at the time of their capture and abduction. They were held for several days in appalling conditions outside of Ashraf and then transferred to the local prison in the city of Khalis.

Subsequently they were moved to the Iraqi military intelligence detention centre and finally to the prison in al-Muthana airfield. In all these displacements they were mistreated,’ the PMOI said in a statement. The PMOI is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States but was earlier this year removed from the European Union’s terror list. It says it has not carried out any armed attacks since 2001.