Camp Liberty with one principal and four subsidiary police stations and numerous cameras; a highly controlled prison
Forty-eight hours into entering Camp Liberty of 397 Ashraf residents, everything shows that at the behest of the Iranian regime, the Iraqi government has turned this camp into a prison and regretfully, UNAMI and Mr. Martin Kobler himself, the Special Representative of Secretary-General, assist in this prison-making by confirming it as a refugee camp.
The spread of police force inside the camp is to such an extent that private life of people is constantly under their surveillance and control and practically no privacy has been recognized for the residents.
1. In the meeting of February 6 and at the presence of Gyorgy Busztin, Deputy SRSG, the representative of Government of Iraq Mr. George Bakoos confirmed that the police are outside Liberty walls. In the February 12 meeting, this same Iraqi representative stated that police is just present at one point at the entrance to Camp Liberty.
2. However, the truth is that Iraqi armed forces are present everywhere in Camp Liberty. There is a police headquarters right adjacent to Section One of Camp Liberty, residence of the first 400, and there are many armed forces stationed there.
3. There is a police station in the northern gate, one in the southern gate, and another in the northeast of Camp Liberty, each with five armed Iraqi forces. Additionally, on the way to the dining facility there is a control point with three armed policemen.
4. At various points of the camp powerful cameras are installed to monitor all activities inside the camp. Just in the western flank of Section One of Camp Liberty there are seven cameras. No doubt the videos from these cameras are provided to the religious fascism ruling Iran by the Iraqi government which makes them the source of much security peril for residents and their families. Moreover, the cameras leave no privacy for people. This matter is in particular tormenting to the Moslem women and is considered psychological torture. All doors to the trailers used for inhabitance, ablution, or shower all open outwards placing inside of trailers to the view of these cameras.
5. Despite heavy presence of police and abovementioned cameras, yesterday, a police patrol insisted to enter the resting area of the residents which led to strong protests by residents.
Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations Secretary-General, the U.S. Secretary of State, Ambassador James Jeffrey, and Ambassador Fried not to remain silent in face of these disgraceful measures by Government of Iraq, the turning of Camp Liberty into a prison and control of Ashraf residents; and to ask for the police force to completely evacuate Camp Liberty and be stationed outside camp walls.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
