Posted 4:00 PM by Dil
Brits among Iran rebels held in Iraq
Thu 15 January, 2004 21:55

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of parliamentarians has said there are "scores" of British, European and U.S. citizens among Iranian rebels detained in Iraq that could face extradition to Iran.

The Iraqi Governing Council last month ordered the expulsion of the members of the People's Mujahideen rebel group interned by U.S. forces in Iraq where they had been armed and trained by the government of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that if that were to happen, we would be condemning those hundreds in Iraq to immediate torture and death," Labour MP Win Griffiths, told a news conference on Thursday.

But a spokesman for the Iranian embassy in London said repentant rebels would be allowed to return to their families but their leaders would face trial on terrorist charges.

"A great number of them repent of their past. If they come to Iran, there would be no problem," Mohammad Eskandari told Reuters.

"The others must face trial and be punished. You know, they have shed much innocent blood. They have killed at least 3,000 Iranians. They have killed even Americans in the past. They are a terrorist group."

Another parliamentarian said there were "scores" of Britons, other Europeans and U.S. citizens among Mujahideen detainees in Iraq.

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, chairman of the British Committee for Iran Freedom which organised Thursday's news conference, said 220 MPs and 85 members of the House of Lords had signed a statement condemning the Iraqi council's decision to expel Mujahideen members.

"The Iraqi governing council have to ask themselves 'do they want a fresh start in Iraq and the region or do they want blood on their hands from day one?'" said another Labour MP, Steve McCabe.

Canada has said 20 of its citizens were among those held and pressed Washington not to deport them to Iran. But the Foreign Office said it was not aware of any citizens being detained in the camp north of Baghdad.

The People's Mujahideen helped overthrow the U.S.-backed shah during Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, but then fell out with the dominant party of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and then fought alongside Iraqi troops in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

The People's Mujahideen has attracted some disaffected Iranian exiles, but its attempts to stir up revolt against the Islamic Republic have fallen on deaf ears inside Iran where it has little or no support.