Agreement on the Exit of Security Forces from the House Arrest of Mehdi Karroubi; Hunger Strike Ends

Following the 'agreement on the exit of security forces' from the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, his son announced the end of his father's hunger strike and stated that the government will make every effort to fulfill the second condition, which is a public trial for Mr. Karroubi. Mohammad Taghi Karroubi announced on Thursday afternoon, August 17, that with the presence of the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Intelligence at the hospital where Mehdi Karroubi is being treated, one of his demands for the exit of security forces from his place of detention has been agreed upon. Mr. Karroubi wrote on his Twitter page that 'Dr. Hashemi and Pourfalah informed my father about the exit of the security forces from the house. Hashemi explicitly stated his and the government's guarantee in implementing this matter.' Just minutes before this news was released, Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi told the state news agency IRNA that he visited Karroubi at the request of the President along with colleagues. According to the Health Minister, 'the status of blood pressure, heart rate, and nutrition' of Mr. Karroubi is under control. Mohammad Taghi Karroubi wrote on his Twitter account regarding his father's health status that he 'must remain in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 48 hours due to a previous problem.' Previously, coinciding with reports about Mehdi Karroubi's transfer to the ICU of Shahid Rajaei Heart Center in Tehran, Mohammad Khatami, the former President of Iran, stated that the least expectation from Hassan Rouhani is to act quickly and ask his minister to remove the security forces from Mehdi Karroubi's home. Mehdi Karroubi began his hunger strike on Wednesday, August 16, and stated that he demands the exit of security forces from his place of detention and a public trial to end his hunger strike. Mr. Karroubi, who was transferred to Tehran Heart Hospital at the end of the first day of his hunger strike on Wednesday night, has stated that he will not break his hunger strike until his demands are met. In this regard, according to Saham News, a website close to Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami emphasized the exit of security forces from his place of detention in a phone conversation with one of Mr. Karroubi's children on Thursday, August 17, stating that 'this is the least that Mr. Rouhani has the authority to do and it should be done as soon as possible.' Addressing the situation of the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, and ending their house arrest has been one of the main demands of Hassan Rouhani's supporters in the last two presidential elections, and in both elections, Mohammad Khatami was one of Mr. Rouhani's main supporters. In this context, Mr. Khatami expressed regret over Mehdi Karroubi's condition, recalling that 'in the case of Mr. Montazeri's house arrest, when we intervened, with the help of Mr. Rouhani in that last year, we were able to resolve his house arrest issue.' The former President of Iran pointed out that the removal of house arrest is, according to him, 'not in Mr. Rouhani's hands' and added: 'The least he can do is to ask his Minister of Intelligence to remove the forces under his command from Mr. Karroubi's home.' Mr. Khatami emphasized at the end that 'the only thing that is very important for us is Mr. Karroubi's health.' Previously, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, on Thursday in a note on his Instagram page deemed Mehdi Karroubi's request for 'a public trial' as logical and wrote: 'It is better for the relevant officials to consider the interests of the country and the Islamic Revolution, and it may be too late tomorrow.' He wrote: 'It is necessary to simultaneously hold a trial for the defendants on the opposing side who created the grounds for the 2009 sedition. It is better for the relevant officials to consider the interests of the country and the Islamic Revolution.' Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the so-called 'Hope Fraction' of the Islamic Consultative Assembly reported on Thursday that 'the president and members of this fraction are negotiating with the first vice president and relevant ministers to follow up on the issue of Karroubi's hunger strike.' In this regard, the website Kalemeh, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, also reported that Ali Shakouri Rad, the Secretary-General of the Union of Iranian Nation Party, one of the reformist parties in Iran, tweeted calling for Hassan Rouhani to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme National Security Council to decide on Mr. Karroubi's 'legitimate demands.' Additionally, Ahmad Mazani, a representative from Tehran in the Parliament, urged the Iranian President to put the issue of house arrest on the agenda of the Supreme National Security Council. 'The Leader of the Islamic Republic should stop his obstinacy.' Meanwhile, according to Kalemeh, Abolfazl Ghadiyani, a political activist who was arrested and imprisoned following the protests against the results of the 2009 election, expressed concern over Mehdi Karroubi's condition and warned that if anything happens to him, 'the direct responsibility lies with Mr. Khamenei, who must be held accountable for the tyranny and irreparable damage inflicted on this country and its oppressed people.' Mr. Ghadiyani, in his note, urged the Leader of the Islamic Republic to 'stop his obstinacy and vindictiveness and end the illegal house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement.' Kalemeh also reported that despite concerns about Mehdi Karroubi's condition, the government has not yet provided a report on addressing his demands to the public. Furthermore, the website Ensaf News reported that a letter signed by about 1,600 students to religious authorities regarding the issue of house arrest, which was written two weeks ago, was published following the announcement of Mehdi Karroubi's hunger strike. In this letter, referring to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election and the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, it was stated that they are now spending their old age in absolute house arrest. The signatories of the letter considered the preservation of the lives of Mr. Karroubi, Mr. Mousavi, and Ms. Rahnavard as a 'human request' and 'an Islamic and national expectation' and added: 'The division of society into dangerous dichotomies, weakening one part of the people and strengthening another part, especially amidst the vast class, ethnic, and generational divides, must stop. We must be prepared to tolerate each other in a free and equal environment.' At the end of this letter, the religious authorities were asked to negotiate with the relevant officials to lift the house arrest of those under detention. Mehdi Karroubi was hospitalized on August 6 due to heart problems. According to one of his children, after two angiographies due to his low heart rate, a battery was installed for Mehdi Karroubi's heart. Mehdi Karroubi, 80 years old, was then returned to house arrest on August 10. Mr. Karroubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since February 2011.