House Arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Leader of the Green Movement, 'Ends'

Hosseini Karroubi, son of Mehdi Karroubi, a leader of the 'Green' protest movement, stated that security agents of the Islamic Republic informed his father on Sunday, March 17, that his house arrest had ended. It has been reported that the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, another leader of the Green Movement, is also expected to be lifted 'within the next few months.' On Tuesday, March 18, Hosseini Karroubi told the Jamaran news website that his father would be released from house arrest 'according to the order of the head of the judiciary.' He quoted government security forces as saying: 'For security and protective reasons, agents will be present at your residence until April 8, and at that time they will leave your home.' According to Jamaran, Mehdi Karroubi himself told the security agents: 'Mr. Mousavi and I have been under house arrest for more than 14 years due to our protests against the 2009 election results, and we should be released together. However, now that you have decided to end the house arrest, I cannot prevent your departure from the house; but I recommend that you end the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi and Mrs. Rahnavard as soon as possible.' Security agents responded: 'The same process that was carried out for you will also be done for Mr. Mousavi in the coming months, and he will also be released from house arrest.' According to Hosseini Karroubi, the head of the judiciary has obtained the 'resolution of the Supreme National Security Council' of the Islamic Republic for Mehdi Karroubi's release. Narges Mousavi, daughter of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, wrote on social media in early November that it had been five thousand days since the house arrest of her parents and Mehdi Karroubi began, but even five hours of it is 'pure injustice and lawlessness,' and enduring it is 'hard and heavy.' Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two candidates in the controversial 2009 presidential election, who became known as the 'leaders of the Green Movement,' declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in that election as a result of vote rigging and interference from security and military institutions. Following this stance, the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi began on February 14, 2011, and they have remained under house arrest without trial or any court proceedings. A month ago, a narrative from Zahra Rahnavard about the manner of her and her husband Mir Hossein Mousavi's arrest and the nighttime raid by security agents on their home on February 14, 2011, was published.