FINLAND: NO INTEREST IN CAMP ASHRAF MEK DETAINEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 001024 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, EUR/NB E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2014 TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER IR FI IQ SUBJECT: FINLAND: NO INTEREST IN CAMP ASHRAF MEK DETAINEES REF: A. A. STATE 89677 ¶B. B. BAGHDAD 386/CPA/1047 ¶C. C. STATE 107318 Classified By: ACTING POL CHIEF DAVID A. SCHLAEFER FOR REASON 1.4 (A) a nd (D) (C) Leena Riitola, Acting Director of the Finnish MFA's Department for Africa and the Middle-East, told Poloff on August 3 that the GoF had finished its review of information concerning Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) detainees at Camp Ashraf who claim ties to Finland and determined that none of the detainees has a valid claim to residency, temporary or otherwise, in Finland. She said that the detainees would likely be denied entry to Finland even if they were applying for a tourist visa with valid passports. Riitola further said that the expired travel documents the detainees had provided to the CPA in support of their claim(s) to Finnish residency were over ten years old and did not transfer residency rights even when in effect. Other Embassy sections also conferred with Finland's security community about the issue and received the same response; there is no interest in interviewing the detainees or admitting them for any reason into Finland. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED MACK