GOI DELIVERS ASSURANCES TO MEK, TAKES CUSTODY OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003796

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018
TAGS: PHUM KJUS PTER PINS PREF IR IZ
SUBJECT: GOI DELIVERS ASSURANCES TO MEK, TAKES CUSTODY OF
FIRST DEFECTOR

REF: A. BAGHDAD 2658

B. BAGHDAD 3556

C. BAGHDAD 1889

Classified By: Political Military Minister Counselor Michael H. Corbin
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: A GOI delegation led by Minister of Human
Rights Wijdan Salim conveyed the GOI's humanitarian
assurances to the USG to the Camp Ashraf (Mujahedin e-Khalq
(MEK)) leadership during a November 26 visit. The GOI had
been reluctant to officially convey the assurances, concerned
that this would legitimize the MEK, but finally agreed to do
so in an effort to foster cooperation with the group's
leaders during the current transfer of security authority.
The GOI delegation returned to Baghdad with a 26-year-old
defector, the first to have left the MEK since the security
transition began. The Ministry of Defense will house and
care for the defector until he is repatriated to Iran or
given another legal status. ICRC met with Minister Wijdan
following the visit and pledged to monitor his situation and
help repatriate the defector to Iran if he wishes to return.
UNHCR has also offered its assistance on individuals
defecting from the camp. End Summary.

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MOHR ASSURES RIGHTS FOR MEK, ASKS FOR COOPERATION
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2. (C) Minister of Human Rights Wijdan Salim visited Camp
Ashraf on November 26 with a GOI delegation consisting of
Ministry of Defense (MoD) Deputy Head of Intelligence Colonel
Uday Muhammed Jassim, Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) Chief
of Staff Firas Faleh, and MoHR Legal Representative Sa'ad
Kata. USG representatives included PolMil MinCouns, Task
Force 134 (TF134) Commanding General, and EmbOffs. Minister
Wijdan represented the GOI in reading the GOI's August 14
diplomatic assurances to the USG that it would meet
international humanitarian law with regard to treatment of
camp residents and would not forcibly return any resident to
a country where he/she would face persecution (ref A) to the
Camp Ashraf leadership.


3. (C) The GOI had been reluctant to officially convey the
assurances, concerned that this would legitimize the MEK, but
finally agreed to do so in an effort to foster cooperation
with the group's leaders during the current transfer of
security authority. During the meeting with the Camp
leaders, Minister Wijdan emphasized that her visit
represented the position of the inter-ministerial committee
formed to handle the Camp Ashraf situation led by MOD and
including representatives from the Ministries of Justice,
Foreign Affairs, and Interior. She said the assurances
applied only to individuals and were not rights given to the
Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK),which the GOI views as a criminal
organization (ref B). She said the June 17 Council of
Ministers' (COM) decree designating the MEK a terrorist
organization (ref C) would not be rescinded because it deals
with the organization, not the individuals, but she asked the
Camp leaders to focus on working with the GOI to protect the
rights of the individuals living in the camp. Wijdan assured
the leaders that the GOI will not turn Ashraf into a
detention facility and said the GOI will ensure the continued
supply of food, water, and other necessities after the
transfer is completed, despite language in the June 17 COM
decree prohibiting Iraqis from interacting with the MEK and
Camp Ashraf residents.


4. (C) Camp Ashraf leader (and nominally Vice President of
Q4. (C) Camp Ashraf leader (and nominally Vice President of
the MEK),Mojgan Parsaei, along with a few other camp
leaders, expressed appreciation for Wijdan's conveyance of
the assurances but fervently requested that the June 17
decree be rescinded. They also asked for written, not just
oral, assurances that security and basic necessities would be
provided to each individual by the GOI. At the end of the
two-hour discussion, the leaders agreed to coordinate with
the GOI and the Iraqi Army on security and deliveries of
necessities. Minister Wijdan pledged that all concerns would
be resolved in continuous coordination meetings between the
GOI's inter-ministerial MEK committee and the Camp Ashraf
residents. Separately, TF-134 used the opportunity to press
the MoD to give written approval to the Iraqi Army commander
of the 3-37 Iraqi Army Battalion of the 9th Division to begin
meeting with MEK security officials three times a week to
coordinate on transition of security and control of the camp.

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FIRST DEFECTOR CASE FOR GOI
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5. (C) On November 21, MEK member Abbas Badfar walked out
of the camp to become the first defector since the beginning
of the security transfer. The 26-year-old Abbas had been in
Ashraf for six years, having arrived with his cousin
immediately after graduating high school. After leaving Camp
Ashraf, Abbas stayed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Grizzly
until the GOI delegation brought him back to Baghdad after
the November 26 trip. He is now being taken care of by the
MoD and living in a temporary housing structure near the
MoD's Muthanna Airport detention facility in Baghdad.


6. (C) Abbas will remain at this location, or an alternate
location as designated by the MoD, until his legal status is
determined. He, or any future defector, has the choice of
returning to his country of origin (in this case Iran),
seeking refugee status in a third-country, or seeking asylum
in Iraq. ICRC is monitoring his case (see below) and UNHCR
Commissioner Gutteres told the Ambassador November 25 that
UNHCR will assist with refugee cases, and work with the GOI
on any asylum requests (septel).


7. (C) MoHR representative Sa'ad Kata accompanied Abbas to
the MoD facility when he arrived in Baghdad to ensure the
facility had adequate living accommodations. Minister Wijdan
sent a team to visit the defector on November 27. They
discussed his repatriation/resettlement options and provided
him with a cell phone and numbers to MoHR officials in case
of any problems or questions. The team believes Abbas wishes
to return to his family in Iran. They will visit him again
on November 30.

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ICRC TO ASSIST WITH REPATRIATION CASE
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8. (C) Minister Wijdan met with ICRC head of Iraq
Delegation Juan Pedro Schaerer and ICRC Detentions
Coordinator Laurent Saugy directly after the visit on
November 26. ICRC, as it had done in the past, pledged to
assist with repatriation if Abbas wants to return to Iran.
ICRC will return next week with a FARSI translator and
discuss with Abbas the prospects for repatriation to Iran.
If he wishes to return to Iran, ICRC will coordinate
arrangements with the Government of Iran. Although Iran has
not been willing to repatriate former MEK since April (ref
B),ICRC is optimistic that it can repatriate the defector in
a short period of time.


9. (C) Schaerer discussed the current defector case with
Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi-Qomi on November 27.
He said Kazemi-Qomi responded favorably to ICRC's request
that Tehran agree to again allow repatriations and undertook
to work with ICRC to repatriate MEK defectors. During the
meeting, Schaerer also met with 15 Iranian family members of
MEK members who wish to see their relatives in Ashraf in the
next few days. ICRC agreed to support their trip to Ashraf
since ICRC highly encourages family contact. Minister Wijdan
met with the family members on November 27 and agreed to
facilitate their travel to Ashraf in the next few days.


10. (C) Saugy told PolOff on November 25 that ICRC
representatives in Tehran have begun looking for the family
of the defector and will work with the Iranian government on
repatriation. Saugy added that ICRC prefers the arrangement
that ICRC will handle defectors who wish to return to Iran,
while UNHCR will take responsibility for defectors who wish
to become refugees and resettle in a third-country. UN High
Commissioner of Refugees Antonio Guterres confirmed to
QCommissioner of Refugees Antonio Guterres confirmed to
Minister Wijdan on November 26 that UNHCR will be involved
with cases of defectors who seek refugee status and do not
wish to return to Iran.

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COMMENT
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11. (C) The GOI's official delivery of assurances to the
Camp Ashraf leaders will allow for further, and much-needed,
coordination between the GOI and the Camp on issues related
to the security transition including how supplies will be
delivered to the Camp. The Camp leadership had been using
the lack of assurances as an excuse not to move forward on
several issues, such as coordinating on the security transfer
and meeting with the Iraqi security forces at Ashraf, and we
will push hard on ensuring that the transfer proceeds
successfully and without crisis. It is likely the Camp
leadership will now find excuses to claim the GOI will not
keep to the assurances the GOI has officially delivered. We
also may begin to see signs of the Camp leadership fracturing
over the way forward as those with the most to lose in terms

BAGHDAD 00003796 003 OF 003


of terrorist actions against Iran, ponder their future in
Iraq.


12. (C) The GOI reacted promptly and effectively to its
first defector case since the Camp transition began. The GOI
demonstrated responsibility for the camp by taking charge of
the defector and providing him with shelter and necessities
until he is resettled. We will continue to encourage the GOI
to plan for higher numbers of defectors, and will work
closely with ICRC on this particular case.
CROCKER