INU- New York, Nov. 18 – Association of Iranian-Americans in New York and New Jersey held a rally at Ralph Bunche Park, opposite the United Nations Headquarters in NY to condemn the rapid rise in executions in Iran and the wave of acid attacks on Iranian women and call for the protection of thousands of Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty, Iraq.

The rally coincided with the upcoming the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee censure resolution of the flagrant abuses of human rights in Iran.

The protesters also urged the UN Security Council, which is meeting to hear the latest report by the Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq, to ensure the protection of thousands of Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and compel the Iraqi government to end the inhumane medical siege on Camp Liberty.

No less than 22 residents have died due to complications from medical problems they suffered because of lack of proper medical care and unhindered, timely access to hospital care.

Camp Liberty is home to 2,700 members (a third of them women) of Iran’s main opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). About a third of the residents are former political prisoners in Iran who have sought refuge in Iraq following years of torture and mistreatment in Iran.

Since Hassan Rouhani took office, more than 1,000 people, including women, dissidents, and juveniles have been hanged, many in public.