Health Minister: I am obligated to monitor the health of individuals under house arrest

Hassan Hashemi, Iran's Minister of Health, states that he is obligated to monitor the health of the leaders of the 2009 protests who are under house arrest to ensure necessary actions are taken. On Tuesday, April 9, the news website Khabar Online published an interview with Hassan Hashemi, the Minister of Health and Medical Education in Iran. Hashemi, who has already taken multiple medical actions for the individuals imprisoned after the 2009 elections, mentioned in the interview regarding the health of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi: 'I am obligated to monitor their health so that necessary actions can be taken; they and their families have insisted that I be their surgeon.' Hashemi also responded to a question about whether he has been mandated or assigned to this task by saying: 'As a Minister of Health under the President, I am obliged to prepare reports for him, and I do this regularly.' He further stated regarding whether the President has issued any orders for the health care of these individuals: 'Both the President and the head of the judiciary have entrusted me to ensure that the medical work for these individuals is carried out accurately and systematically.' The latest information regarding the monitoring of the health of those under house arrest pertains to a conversation with the children of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard about the Minister's examination of their parents at the end of last year. On March 23, one of the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard announced that the Minister of Health visited her parents and issued necessary medical instructions after the examination. This visit and examination by the Minister of Health occurred after their children released a statement regarding the critical condition of their parents. The daughter of Mir Hossein Mousavi stated: 'According to the Minister, part of the tests will be conducted at the designated time, and necessary medications have also been prescribed; he also mentioned that from now on, heart examinations for my father will be conducted more frequently.' A few days before the news of the examination of Mr. Mousavi and Mrs. Rahnavard was published, their children announced a statement regarding a 'change in the security situation' of their parents in house arrest, indicating that their condition has become 'more critical.' On the other hand, Hassan Hashemi also took actions regarding Mehdi Karroubi's health in 2015. Mr. Karroubi, who underwent several examinations by the Minister of Health after developing cataracts, had eye surgery performed by the Minister in June 2015. In mid-2013, after a surge in his 'lumbar disc' disease, 'knee arthritis,' and 'severe digestive disorders,' he was transferred to Laleh Hospital in Tehran for surgery based on the diagnosis of the Ministry of Intelligence's physician. Mr. Hashemi also performed eye surgery on Zahra Rahnavard in 2015. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election, have been under house arrest since February 2011 without trial. Mehdi Karroubi, after three years of 'detention' in a 'safe house' of the Ministry of Intelligence, was moved to his home in Jamaran in February 2014 but remains under house arrest.