Request for protection by US forces for burial ceremony of 34 deceased Ashraf residents

have not been buried due to the occupation of Camp Ashraf’s ‘Pearl Memorial’ (Ashraf’s cemetery) by Iraqi armed forces. The bodies of 6 deceased Ashraf residents remain in the custody of the Iraqi government and until Friday night they have refused to deliver them to their relatives and friends in Ashraf. have not been buried due to the occupation of Camp Ashraf’s ‘Pearl Memorial’ (Ashraf’s cemetery) by Iraqi armed forces. The bodies of 6 deceased Ashraf residents remain in the custody of the Iraqi government and until Friday night they have refused to deliver them to their relatives and friends in Ashraf.
According to Islamic customs and rituals, bodies of the dead must be buried as soon as possible. However, repressive measures and various restrictions, and Iraqi Army forces occupying Ashraf’s cemetery and the road leading to it, has made this impossible. On the other hand, Asgari, Maliki’s spokesman in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense appeared on television tonight claiming, “Iraqi security forces are not preventing the burial ceremony of the dead; the government respects Islamic customs and beliefs regarding their burial and is ready to help carry out the ceremony by providing all necessary means.”
Reminding the numerous international condemnations regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ashraf, Maryam Rajavi said:
“If General Asgari’s remarks are not simply a propaganda gesture and the Iraqi government is bound to what Asgari has announced, the Iraqi armed forces must immediately depart and consign the Pearl Cemetery and the road leading to it to Ashraf residents for the burial ceremony. The military occupation of a cemetery with armored units is not considered an accomplishment or honorable act for any army.”
Maryam Rajavi outlined following necessary steps to hold a burial ceremony for the martyrs without any tension and disorder, and urged the Government of Iraq to officially announce its approval, and called for US forces in Iraq to insure these steps:
Handover of the corpses of 6 martyrs to their friends and family members in Ashraf;Evacuation of the ‘Perl Memorial’ and roads leading to it from all armed forces, and the delivery of the cemetery to Ashraf residents for indefinite visiting and use;Supervision of US forces over the transfer of corpses and evacuation and delivery of the cemetery.Maryam Rajavi stated that if the Government of Iraq, contrary to all international and human rights laws and obligations, and contrary to the explicit instructions of Islamic customs and rituals regarding the sanctity of a cemetery, is not willing to deliver it to the Ashraf residents, the only solution that remains is for Iraqi armed forces to evacuate the cemetery and roads leading to it for at least 48 hours, so that the burial ceremony can be held in peace without any obstruction and presence of Iraqi forces under the supervision and assurance of the US forces.