Another tragic drowning

Hassan Nemati ex-Mojahedin-e Khalq member drowned in the Aegean  According to a report by Aria Association, Mr. Hassan Nemati, a former member with 25-years of service in the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), has drowned in the river in the border between Turkey and Greece.  On 20 May 2008 Hassan Nemati (Saffar), drowned near the shores of Samos as he and a friend tried to enter Greece clandestinely by swimming the river.  Hassan Nemati and a group of repentant Mojahedin members were expelled by the Turkish authorities. Nemati and one of his friends decided to leave the Kusadasi and swim to Samos.  During the night passage over the Aegean Sea storm waves rose up and Hassan Neamti was drowned. He is the second person who has drowned in Turkish border waters in the past few weeks.  On 23 April 2008, Hassan Mirzai, another repentant MKO member, drowned after being forcefully expelled by the Turkish authorities. Mirzai was one of a group of asylum seekers who were made to leave the country by swimming across the river border between Turkey and Iraq. Three others also drowned in the same incident.  The body of the Hassan Nemati has not yet been found.

The UNHCR representative in Turkey has condemned the behaviour of the Turkish authorities by announcing the death of Hassan Mirzai and forced eviction of the group via the river.

Moreover, the UNHCR has requested that these refugees are not deported.

According to this organization there are other former MKO asylum seekers who are currently becoming lost in different regions of Iraq, Turkey and Greece.

These people have been deceived for four years by the Mojahedin organization which promised to help them get asylum with European countries if they remained in the TIPF camp.

The Mojahedin organization has not kept its promise and now these people have no protection, they are without legal status and are wandering in the neighbouring countries of Iraq and in Iraqi cities.

Here we must question the western backers of the Mojahedin, and especially Lord Corbett who likes to present a nice democratic mask, about the situation of this organisation:

Is it not true that the leaders of this organization have promised their members that they will pay their airfare if your country gives them asylum?

(Robin Corbett, who promoted terrorism in Iran and Iraq under the logo of MKO for the past 25 years!!)

So until today not only this organization has made no effort to support these people but instead insults and accuses them when they themselves are trying to get out of this miserable situation.

They offer death tickets!

The MKO cult and its leaders have never been messengers of freedom and democracy and the only message they had for their own members were lies, deceit and death.

Who is responsible for the abandonment and deaths of former MKO members?

The Aria Association offers condolences to the bereaved families and implores humanitarian organizations around the world to go to the rescue of these people who are currently in pitiful conditions in Iraq, Turkey and Greece after the closure of the TIPF camp TIPF.

May 24, 2008-Paris

Note by Iran-Interlink:

Last December American forces removed half the MKO dissidents from the TIPF adjacent to Camp Ashraf. On Friday May 2, 2008 American forces completely closed TIPF and transferred the remaining people to Dahouk in Kurdistan. They have been housed for two months and have food rations, but have been told they will then be given over to the UN refugee agency.

The deportation order issued by the Turkish authorities

Link to the report (Audio) in Persian

  http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2734560/7957789

Aria Iran, Paris, May 24, 2008  –  Translated by Iran-Interlink

http://www.ariairan.com/fr/?mod=view&id=5232 (French)

http://www.ariairan.com/fa/?mod=view&id=5229 (Persian)

http://iran-interlink.org/fa/?mod=view&id=4570 (Persian)