Children of Mousavi and Rahnavard: Our Parents' Situation Has Become More Critical

The children of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the 2009 protests, have released a statement indicating a "change in the security situation" of their parents under house arrest, stating that their condition has become "more critical." In the statement by Narges, Koukb, and Zahra Mousavi Khameneh, published on the Kaleme website close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, they refer to the "deliberate neglect of heart treatment" for their father and the "postponement of routine heart check-ups, which resembles an assassination attempt on his life." They noted, "The only response we received was that we do not follow up more than once every six months, and this important matter has currently been postponed to an unspecified time in Farvardin next year." The Mousavi children emphasized that "over the past five years, including the last two years, we have witnessed instances such as the neglect of treatment and the destruction of medical orders from the hospital system, among other issues, which we will inform the public about with relevant documents when appropriate." The statement also mentions a "change in the direction of cameras towards the bedrooms of the detainees." It states that "the lenses of the cameras have been directed inside the rooms of the house to shamelessly, unlawfully, and unethically record the private lives of Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi, which has also faced strong objections from Zahra Rahnavard and denial from the head of the prison guards." The daughters of Mousavi and Rahnavard described their parents' physical condition as "disorganized and unprecedented" and complained about the continued "indifference" of officials to their medical needs. They also mentioned that "in the past month, unspecified tests have been conducted on the two detainees without showing any prescriptions or documents, and it is unclear who ordered these tests or what they were for, and the results have not been provided to the detainees or their family, while the head of the prison guards refuses to respond with various excuses." Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest since late 2010 without trial. Their families have repeatedly expressed concern about their physical condition over the years. The mention of a "change in the security situation" of Mousavi and Rahnavard comes after reformists achieved victories in the recent parliamentary elections. Mohammad Khatami, former president of Iran, mentioned on March 9 that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the 2009 protests, are individuals who, according to him, "despite the injuries they suffered, did not turn their backs on the system and participated in the recent elections." About two months ago, Mohammad Ali Mohsenzadeh, head of the office representing the Supreme Leader in one of the Revolutionary Guard's divisions, made an unprecedented remark about Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, stating that they are "corrupt on earth" and that the punishment for such individuals is "execution." A week prior, Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi, senior advisor to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, accused Mir Hossein Mousavi of being "still delusional today, and for this reason, he does not repent or apologize." The continued house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard, along with the ongoing harsh remarks from officials about them, comes at a time when the release of these individuals and other political prisoners was one of the main promises of Hassan Rouhani during his presidential campaign. Hassan Rouhani had stated in May 2013, "It is not a problem to create conditions in the coming year that not only those under house arrest are freed but also those imprisoned for the events of 2009."