US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents USCCAR http usccarblogspotcom For Immediate Release Contact Ali Rostami usccaryahoocom August 10 2005



> US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR) http://usccar.blogspot.com/ For Immediate Release Contact: Ali Rostami usccar@yahoo.com August 10, 2005

Save the two kidnapped Camp Ashraf residents in Iraq

August 12, 2005 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR) calls for urgent action to save the lives of Mr. Hossein Mehrpoya and Mr. Mohammad Ali Zahedi.

Both individuals are members of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), currently based in Ashraf, Iraq. PMOI is the principal organized resistance to the fundamentalist regime in Tehran. Tens of thousands of its members have been killed or imprisoned by the regime since the 1980s.

On Aug. 4, 2005, Mr. Mehrpoya (protected person ID # 2721D81A) and Mr. Zahedi (protected person ID# F86DDF01) traveled to Baghdad for shopping. They were abducted in the area of Karrada Avenue at 11:50 a.m. Witnesses at the scene say the abductors were in 2002 Chevrolet and Hyundai trucks resembling those used by Iraqi police, bearing identification of the 9th Brigade of Interior Ministry special forces.

Reports are that the two men were taken by a group of eight people, all of whom wore beards in the manner of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Eyewitness accounts add that the abductors all wore civilian clothing, and one had a bulletproof vest.

As "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention, all PMOI members at Camp Ashraf have been under the protection of Multi-National Force-Iraq, specifically US forces.

There are reliable reports that the two victims were transported to the city of Al Amarah, 125 miles southeast of Baghdad. Although the Al Amarah area is under the control of British forces, intelligence, media, and NGO reports indicate heavy presence of Iranian security and intelligence agents in the area. Al Amarah is only 30 miles from the porous Iranian boarder, and the area is often used for smuggling of weapons and persons from Iran into Iraq.

USCCAR believes that Messrs. Mehrpoya and Zahedi are in serious and imminent danger. We call upon the Multinational Force-Iraq, led by the United States, to fully investigate the abduction of these two individuals, and ask that British forces in Al Amarah and Iraqi Security in Baghdad ascertain their whereabouts. The lives of these two individuals are in great peril because of their political beliefs. They must be rescued from captivity and returned to Camp Ashraf. In addition, proper procedures must be adopted to ensure that no such crimes take place in the future. We have asked Amnesty International to issue an Urgent Action to save the lives of Messrs. Mehrpoya and Zahedi.

The kidnapping of the two PMOI members is politically motivated, and was undoubtedly planned by the regime in Tehran and carried out by its agents in Iraq. All efforts should be directed to save the lives of Messrs. Mehrpoya and Zahedi, before it is too late. If in fact these men are taken to Iran, they will face torture and execution. Immediate action must be taken to save their lives through both government and non-government channels.
USCCAR calls upon US, UK and Iraqi government to intervene to save two innocent lives, and to prevent the occurrence of similar violations of the rights of protected persons in the future.

USCCAR Members are Represented by
Steven M. Schneebaum
Greenberg Traurig LLP
800 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: 202/530-8544
Fax: 202/261-2665

USCCAR Action Alert:
Save the two kidnapped Camp Ashraf residents in Iraq. See USCCAR Statement published on August 10, 2005.

Please contact:

- President Bush comments(at)whitehouse.gov

-Vice President Cheney vice.president(at)whitehouse.gov

-The Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Acting Assistant Secretary Glyn T. Davies, Tel: 202-647-4000

-The Department of Defense http://www.dod.gov/faq/comment.html

-UK Parliament Human Rights Group jchr(at)parliament.uk

-Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC iraqia.washington(at)netzero.com

-US Embassy in Iraq BaghdadPressOffice(at)state.gov and usconsulbaghdad(at)state.gov

-UK Embassy in Iraq britishconsulbaghdad(at)gtnet.gov.uk and
britembBaghdad(at)fco.gov.uk

Please take action now.





US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents USCCAR http usccarblogspotcom For Immediate Release Contact Ali Rostami usccaryahoocom August 10 2005