First Meeting of Karroubi with a Political Activist After Seven Years of House Arrest

Mahdi Karroubi's son announced that the Supreme National Security Council has 'approved' that some individuals meet with his father, marking the first time in seven years that a political activist has met with Mr. Karroubi. Hossein Karroubi stated in an interview with the 'Ensaf News' website published on Thursday, October 19, that Ismail Doosti, a member of the National Trust Party and the fourth Tehran City Council, met with his father last week. He described this meeting as 'a normal visit.' According to Mr. Karroubi's son, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, informed several members of the 'Follow-up Committee for House Arrest' in the Hope faction of the parliament that 'we want to bring some friends to Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi.' Hossein Karroubi also reported that the Supreme National Security Council has 'approved that gradually a series of individuals can meet with Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi, and they started this with Mr. Karroubi.' Previously, some journalists and political activists had suggested a gradual lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders. The recent meeting of the Supreme National Security Council regarding the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard has made headlines in recent weeks, with government and judiciary officials providing differing accounts of this session. Ultimately, Keyvan Khosravi, the spokesperson 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 that only a report about 'the openings created in the situation of the house-arrested individuals' was discussed, and 'no new decisions regarding the main issue of house arrest were made.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Their requests for a public trial have not been accepted, and military and hardline clerics have threatened them with severe penalties, including execution. Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, in a letter to the judiciary spokesperson on August 21, again called the continued house arrest of the Green Movement leaders by the Supreme National Security Council 'against the Constitution' and raised the question of whether the refusal to try them 'does not create the suspicion of fear of revealing the truths?' The daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard wrote a letter to religious authorities on Sunday, October 15, criticizing the officials for 'shirking' their responsibility to pursue the issue of their parents' house arrest, stating that 'the gradual death of the house-arrested individuals has become the wish and plan of some.' Lifting the house arrest was one of the main demands of Hassan Rouhani's supporters in the presidential elections of 2013 and 2017, and in both elections, Mr. Rouhani made explicit or implicit promises regarding lifting the house arrest. However, during the four years of Mr. Rouhani's first government, not only was no public action taken to fulfill this promise, but the restrictions on figures like Mohammad Khatami were also increased. Meanwhile, a group of national-religious activists inside the country recently stated in a letter that the president, in his capacity as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, has 'sufficient authority' to intervene in this matter and 'to try to persuade the high-ranking officials of the system.'