NCRI – The hunger strike of Liberty Residents that started on September 1 entered its ninth week on Sunday, October 27.
The hunger strike started following the massacre and mass execution of PMOI (MEK) members in Camp Ashraf and taking seven of them hostage by the forces under Nouri al-Maliki’s command.
Iranians in Geneva, London, Berlin, Ottawa and Melbourne joined Liberty Residents by going on hunger strike. The foremost demand of hunger strikers is the release of seven Ashrafi hostages who are being held in Baghdad by Maliki’s special forces.
On Saturday, October 26, a big number of hunger strikers in Liberty went under special medical care. In the ninth week many of strikers are nearing the no return point. On the average, they have lost 16 kilograms of their weight.
Some of the hunger strikers wrote in their letter to U.S. Secretary of State on October 26, “We ask you to pressure the Iraqi government to free the hostages and secure protection of Liberty. We believe Mr. Obama should not meet with Maliki before the hostages are freed. Maliki is the one who issued the order of September 1st massacre.”
While warning about the dire physical conditions of the hunger strikers, the Iranian Resistance asks the U.S. government and the UN, considering their responsibility before the residents’ safety and security, to compel the Iraqi government to free the seven Ashrafi hostages. The U.S. should condition its economic and military aid to the GOI upon freedom of the hostages and providing minimum security necessities for the Liberty Residents. Since 2003, the U.S. has time and again committed itself to securing safety and security of the Residents.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
October 27, 2013
