A Parliament Member's Warning About the Health of Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard

The head of the Women's Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly issued a warning to the ministers of intelligence and interior regarding the situation of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard under house arrest, calling for attention to the living conditions and health of the detainees. Parvaneh Salahshouri made this statement on Tuesday, August 31, in the open session of the Parliament, and the video of her remarks was shared on social media. Salahshouri expressed concern about the physical condition of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard, noting that 'Mr. Karroubi is currently in a critical condition, and the health status of Engineer Mousavi and Ms. Zahra Rahnavard is also very concerning.' She further lamented that due to Karroubi's 'very dangerous' health condition, he was compelled to go on a hunger strike to demand a fair trial. Karroubi, who suffers from heart problems, went on a hunger strike on August 25 after undergoing heart surgery and returning to his place of house arrest, demanding a public trial and the removal of security agents from his home. According to his family, he ended the hunger strike after promises were made regarding the removal of the agents. In contrast, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i stated at a press conference that 'who said' the promise of removing security agents from Karroubi's home 'has been fulfilled, and this is a complete lie.' However, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, mentioned on August 29 that 'this work has definitely been done, and anything that can be said will be announced by the security officials.' Salahshouri also noted that due to the 'old age' of the detainees and their 'various illnesses in addition to communication restrictions,' their condition is worsening day by day, and an unfortunate incident could happen to them at any moment. She warned that the continued house arrest of these three individuals would 'have a heavy cost for the regime.' Former President Mohammad Khatami also called on the Supreme Leader to 'issue an order to resolve the issue of lifting the house arrest' of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results. Khatami's official media channel reported that he requested the Supreme Leader to issue an order to resolve the house arrest issue on behalf of the freed individuals. The website Kalemeh, close to Mousavi, also reported that Khatami made this request following the demands of the freed individuals and veterans for lifting the house arrest of Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard. Khatami stated that the responsible agencies do not want or cannot resolve the house arrest issue, and it is the Supreme Leader's attention that will solve this issue. Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard have been under house arrest since February 2011, and requests for their release have not yielded results. Lifting the house arrest has been one of the main demands of Hassan Rouhani's supporters in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, and Rouhani made explicit or implicit promises regarding lifting the house arrest in both elections. However, during the four years of Rouhani's first government, not only was there no public action to fulfill this promise, but restrictions on figures like Mahmoud Khatami also increased. Judicial officials, who claim that the house arrest of the protest leaders was decided by the Supreme National Security Council, have repeatedly stated that if the house arrest is lifted, the trial of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 election results will be on the agenda. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also called for an explanation regarding the opposition to the request for a public trial of the detainees. Motahari wrote in his letter that 'the Supreme National Security Council can never replace the judiciary and determine house arrest until death without trial and hearing the defendants' defenses.' He referred to Articles 32 to 37 of the Constitution and asked Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i: 'Why do you oppose the request for a public trial of one of the detainees? ... Does this not create the suspicion of fear of revealing the truths?'