GOI’s sham investigations into the mass execution and massacre at Ashraf aimed at deceiving the international community, whitewashing Maliki’s bloody hands and setting stage for further massacres

Iranian Resistance urges UN Secretary General and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake investigations into the September 1st massacre, calls on the United States to refer this crime to the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the UN Security Council. 

NCRI – September 25, 2013

On behalf of Iraqi Major General Jamil al-Shemmari, chief of Diyala police who commanded the massacre and mass execution in Ashraf on September 1st, a three-man group went to Camp Liberty today to investigate the attack by interrogating some of the 42 eyewitnesses of the crime against humanity who were relocated from Ashraf to Liberty. The group consisted of: 

Colonel Abdul-Amir al-Shemmari, deputy to Jamil al-Shemmari, who himself was among the perpetrators of September 1st massacre;

Brigadier General Khalis al-Tamimi from Baquba police and one of Jamil al-Shemmari’s deputies. General Khalis al-Tamimi was also involved in the September 1st massacre;

Lieutenant Colonel Omar, in charge of Diyala police legal affairs, who went to Liberty as interrogator to conduct the so-called investigations.

While nowhere in the world can a suspect in a crime have any role in the investigation, the Iraqi government, whose most senior officials were involved in this crime, has assumed responsibility to probe the September 1st  massacre. The undertaking is a mockery of  justice and impartiality, and must be firmly rejected by the US and UN. The objective of this sham investigation by the Iraqi government and those directly involved in this crime, taking into consideration that the seven Ashrafi hostages have yet to be released, is to wash off Maliki’s bloody hands and pave the way for further massacres.

Liberty residents’ lawyers have unanimously denounced this illegal investigation, emphasizing that the probe must be carried out by the UN Secretary-General, High Commissioner of Human Rights and/or the Security Council. Despite all this, to prevent any excuses and allegations of lack of cooperation, one of the eyewitnesses of the Ashraf massacre, described his observations of the scenes of the massacre and group executions of the residents by the Iraqi forces for 4.5 hours. It is interesting that when the residents speak of the role of police officers or Iraqi officials in this massacre, the so-called investigative team warns that no one has the right to raise such allegations against government officials or the police!!

The international community, outraged and furious over this flagrant case of crime against humanity at Camp Ashraf, has in the past few weeks repeatedly called for independent and transparent investigations.

 In this respect, the State Department spokesperson and the US Embassy stated in separate statements on September 1, “ We support UNAMI’s efforts to conduct its own assessment of the situation and call on the Government of Iraq to fully support those efforts… we affirm the call by UNAMI for a full and independent investigation into this terrible and tragic event. Those found to be responsible must be held fully accountable. “

Canada’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration issued a joint statement on September 1, which said, “Canada condemns the attack that has taken the lives of scores of residents in a camp housing Iranian exiles northeast of Baghdad… Canada urges that those responsible are brought to justice.”

Amnesty International announced on September 2, “The authorities must ensure that an inquiry into yesterday’s violence is promptly carried out and that it is independent, transparent and in full conformity with international standards…” In another Urgent Action statement on September 11, Amnesty International stressed, “ Amnesty International condemns the killing of the 52 residents and has called for an independent and….”

EU’s High Representative on Foreign Policy and Security Affairs said in a statement on September 2, “I condemn in the strongest terms the killings that took place at Camp Ashraf yesterday… The circumstances in which this brutal incident took place must be clarified and those found to be responsible must be held fully accountable… The EU is committed to a peaceful solution of the Camp Ashraf issue and I fully support U’AMI’s decision, under its humanitarian mandate, to conduct an independent and transparent assessment of this tragic event. I call on all parties and particularly the Government of Iraq to facilitate U’AMI’s fact-finding efforts. ”

Spain’s Foreign Ministry stated on September 4, “Spain hopes that Iraqi officials and the United Nations Assistance Mission for  Iraq would conclude an investigation that would let perpetuators of the events be brought to justice. ”

On September 6, Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones wrote to Mrs. Rajavi, ”We support the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMI) and its efforts to conduct an independent fact finding investigation of this terrible event and document what happened. . We have called on the Government of Iraq to fully support those efforts”.

The European Parliament’s Liberal-Democrat group wrote on September 10, “le massacre de 52 résidents du camp d’Achraf par les forces irakiennes du Premier Ministre Nouri al-Maliki. Les violences à l’encontre de la population civile sont un crime contre l’humanité.

les Nations Unies diligentent une mission d’enquête au plus vite afin de faire toute la lumière sur ce “crime contre l’humanité”  et  demandent que les responsables soient traduits devant la cours pénale internationale de La Haye.”

On September 10, the European people’s Parties group the largest political group in European Parliament urged “European leaders, the UN and the US Government to ask for a thorough investigation into this atrocity, to call on the Government of Iraq for the safe release of the hostages.” 

A number of senior members of the Social-Democrat group at the European Parliament wrote on September 11, “An independent investigation needs to be done by the UN on this massacre and prosecute those responsible.”

On September 11, 35 senior US officials, including 10 Generals, five military officers who were responsible for the protection of Camp Ashraf, Congressional leaders and former Presidential candidates, cabinet secretaries and ambassadors wrote an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, ”Asking the Iraqi government, which committed these atrocities, to perform an impartial investigation and make those results public is absolutely ludicrous. But we do not even have that pretense of objectivity. Prime Minister Maliki simply ignores the requests and accepts weak US and UN responses as a green light to commit further atrocities. This history of this Iraqi sponsored genocide and all of the facts we know confirm that additional massacres are imminent”.

Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate, wrote to Iraqi Prime Nouri al-Maliki, “The United Nation assistant Mission for Iraq is conducting an investigation into the attacks. I urge your full cooperation with these efforts and ask you to act decisively to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice as quickly as possible.”  

This ridiculous police masquerade, dubbed as investigation, comes as on September 19, Mrs. Rajavi declared at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, “Hours of video footage taken with mobile phones and cameras of Maliki’s forces and Iranian regime’s agents storming of Ashraf is available. I have personally talked with survivors and witnesses by phone. Iraqi forces confiscated cameras from the hands of those who were executed. We demand the Iraqi government release these mobile phones and cameras that it confiscated from martyrs and wounded persons.”

The Iranian Resistance condemns these bogus and sham investigations and calls on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner Pillay to assume responsibility of the inquiry into the September 1 massacre and mass execution. The Iranian Resistance also calls on the US government, which has assumed responsibility regarding the residents’ safety and security, to refer this grave crime against humanity to the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the UN Security Council.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

September 25, 2013