Danish rights organization calls for an end to abuses against Ashraf

NCRI, 27 December 2010 – The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) has called for an end to the abuses and threats against the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
The Denmark-based organization, which acts as an umbrella group for more than 140 independent torture rehabilitation organizations in over 70 countries, said in a statement that the Iraqi government must “stop abuses and threats against the residents of Camp Ashraf.”
The statement said, “We have received reports and warnings about excessive use of various methods by Iraqi force meant to threaten and harass the residents of Camp Ashraf, where Iranian refugees have lived for the past 24 years. This seems to be a campaign intended to frighten the residents of the camp.”
“The obtained reports,” IRCT said, “are indicative of suppressive methods including psychological torture. For example, some press reports say that Iraqi forces use dozens of powerful loudspeakers for harassing Camp Ashraf residents. Patients, who are located in the only clinic of the camp are not far away from the loudspeakers, and are not immune to their sound.”
“In view of the concerns voiced by other humanitarian organizations, we call on the new coalition government led by Mr. Nouri al-Maliki to immediately investigate the measures that seem to deliberately violate human rights, and move to guarantee the safety, the psychological and physical security, and the dignity of the residents of Camp Ashraf.”