Daughters and Two Sisters of Mir Hossein Mousavi Met with Him on Friday

The website Kaleme reported that the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, as well as two sisters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, met with them on Friday, November 3. According to this website close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, security forces contacted the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard and, 'along with some warnings,' announced that they could meet their parents on Friday, and the two sisters of Mr. Mousavi were also present at this meeting. The website did not mention the details of these 'warnings.' This meeting took place in addition to the usual weekly visits of the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, and according to the Kaleme website, if this 'change' continues in the coming weeks, 'it could be interpreted as a trickle of easing in the situation of the imprisoned individuals meeting with their families.' Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, stated on Tuesday, November 1, that the leaders of the protesters against the results of the 2009 presidential election 'are not under house arrest' and 'can see whoever they wish.' Hours after these remarks, the children of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard announced that they are still under house arrest. Meanwhile, Khadijeh Mousavi, the sister of Mir Hossein Mousavi, announced that she has not seen her brother for three months, and the Kaleme website reported that Mir Mahmoud Mousavi, the brother of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has not met him for 17 months. On October 15, the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard wrote a letter to religious authorities, criticizing the officials for 'shying away' from pursuing the issue of their parents' house arrest, stating that 'the gradual death of the imprisoned individuals has become the wish and plan of some.' According to this letter, the children of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard have no information about their parents except for the weekly visits, and 'there is not even the possibility of normal phone contact without a request. Instead, a request must be made through an unspecified process and unspecified individuals, and the possibility of it is examined.' Hossein Karroubi, another son of Mehdi Karroubi, announced on October 19 that the Supreme National Security Council 'has approved' that some individuals can meet with his father, and based on this decision, Ismail Doosti, a member of the National Trust Party, has met with his father. Mr. Karroubi's son added that Ali Shamkhani told some members of the 'Committee for Following Up on House Arrest' in the Hope Faction of the Parliament that 'we want to bring some friends to Mr. Karroubi and Mousavi.' Hossein Karroubi also mentioned that the Supreme National Security Council 'has approved that gradually a series of individuals can meet with Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Taqi Karroubi, the son of Mehdi Karroubi, reported on Friday, November 3, that Ismail Doosti, a member of the National Trust Party, met with his father in the place of house arrest for the second time in recent months, and no one else has been taken to the place of house arrest. The lifting of house arrest has been one of the main demands of supporters of Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections of 2013 and 2017, and he made promises regarding the lifting of house arrest both explicitly and implicitly in both elections. However, during the four years of Mr. Rouhani's first government, not only was no practical action taken to fulfill this promise, but during his second presidency, restrictions against Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, were also increased. The recent meeting of the Supreme National Security Council regarding the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard has made headlines in recent weeks, and government and judiciary officials have provided differing accounts of this meeting. Ultimately, Keyvan Khosravi, the spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council, announced that the issue of house arrest was not on the agenda of this council's recent meeting, and only a report about 'the openings created in the situation of the imprisoned individuals' was discussed, and 'no new decisions regarding the main issue of house arrest have been made.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Their requests to appear in public court have not been accepted so far, and hardline military and clerical figures have threatened them with severe sentences, including execution. Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the parliament, in a letter to the spokesman of the judiciary on August 21, again called the continuation of the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement by the approval of the Supreme National Security Council 'unconstitutional' and raised the question of whether the opposition to their trial 'does not create the suspicion of fear of revealing the truths?'