Hosseini Karrubi's Reaction to New Claims of 'Ending House Arrest': House Arrest Continues and Conditions Have Become Stricter

Hossein Karrubi, the son of Mehdi Karrubi, deemed the claims of the Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party regarding the end of his father's house arrest as 'false.' Asadollah Badamchian, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party, had claimed that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi 'have not been under house arrest for a long time,' without mentioning Zahra Rahnavard, who has also been under house arrest since February 2011. In an interview with the 'Emtidad' channel, Hossein Karrubi labeled these statements as 'false' and stated that the house arrest continues and the restrictions have become stricter. This comes as Badamchian stated, 'They go to see them, they do everything.' The Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party also cited 'protection' of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi as one of the reasons for their house arrest, saying, 'Others might kill them and blame it on the Islamic Republic.' Badamchian further noted that at that time, some were 'chanting that [Karrubi and Mousavi] should be executed,' adding, 'I told my friends that the regime is not the one to execute them.' As the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karrubi, and Zahra Rahnavard approaches its 15th anniversary, no efforts have been made to lift their house arrest, and despite Mehdi Karrubi's request for a 'trial' in a 'public court,' they remain under house arrest. Hossein Karrubi announced in early September that agreements had been made to lift Mehdi Karrubi's house arrest between Masoud Pezeshkian and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, but he stated that he does not want a 'solitary lifting of house arrest' and has called for the lifting of Mir Hossein Mousavi's house arrest as well. Hossein Karrubi mentioned that after his father's statements, 'the relevant authorities' made his house arrest conditions stricter, and requests for visits with him have faced opposition. Mehdi Karrubi voted for Pezeshkian during the voting to determine a replacement for Ebrahim Raisi, which was described by many critics and opponents as a 'mock election,' and invited the public to vote for him. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard continue to boycott elections. In his first press conference in September, Masoud Pezeshkian, without naming Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, said, 'Mr. Karrubi's issue is resolved, and we are following up on the other one, but we should not confront the regime.' Hassan Rouhani had also promised during the 2013 election campaign to end the house arrest of Mousavi and Karrubi within a year, but he was unsuccessful. Following the controversial presidential election in Iran in 2009, millions took to the streets in protest with the central slogan 'Where is my vote?' emphasizing widespread 'fraud' in the election. These widespread protests were met with violent repression by the government. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karrubi have been under house arrest since 2010. Fatemeh Karrubi, Mehdi Karrubi's wife, was also under house arrest but was released after some time. Zahra Rahnavard stated that a 'national unity cabinet' must entail the recognition of equal rights for all Iranian citizens. Mehdi Karrubi conditioned the lifting of house arrest agreed upon by Pezeshkian and Ejei on the lifting of Mir Hossein Mousavi's house arrest. Zahra Rahnavard described compulsory hijab in Iran as a 'dictatorial order' and 'fabricated.'