East Lansing members of the Iranian American Cultural Society of Michigan stood on the corner of Abbott Road and Grand River Avenue to recognize the second anniversary of an attack at Camp Ashraf, a city northeast of Khalis, in Iraq, which left 36 camp members dead, including eight women and 345 wounded. Two former MSU professors survived the attack and are residing in Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military installation in Baghdad, protestor Hamid Khorrami said.
Camp Ashraf was a refugee camp for the organization People’s Mujahedin of Iran that was attacked by a combination of the Iran and Iraqi government on April 8, 2011. According to media reports, the U.S. government said if they gave up their defense system, they were going to protect them. When the attack occurred, U.S. troops were not close by.
Khorrami, an MSU alumnus and member of the Iranian American Cultural Society of Michigan, said they rallied to press the U.S. to send protection to the camp.
“We want the U.S. government to take action to protect our friends and family because they promised,” Khorrami said.
Khorrami said camp residents are living in concentration camp-like conditions with no running water or security amidst a battle zone.
“These are not normal people because they are educated and very devoted to making Iran have a better government,” Khorrami said.
Khorrami said former MSU professor Mohammad Mohaddess is at Camp Liberty, but Mohaddess could not be reached for comment at press time.
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