Hundreds of Political and Civil Activists: Those Arrested in the February 14 Gathering Should Be Released

About 570 political, social, and civil activists in Iran issued a statement calling for the immediate release of those arrested during the February 14 gathering in Tehran and the lifting of house arrest on Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard. According to the Telegram channel 'Kalameh,' the signatories wrote: '14 years of house arrest for the leaders of the Green Movement is contrary to national and international laws, human rights principles, and human and religious norms.' They also emphasized the continuation of demands for freedom and justice in Iranian society, referencing recent protest movements including 'Women, Life, Freedom.' The signatories urged the Iranian government to 'fulfill its responsibilities regarding the people's demands, cease the repression of protesters, and release all political prisoners.' They expressed concern over the 'continuation of security cases' against protesters and civil activists and called for an end to this trend. According to news sources, on February 14, a group of supporters of the leaders protesting the results of the 2009 presidential election held a gathering in front of Tehran University in protest against their continued house arrest and the situation of political prisoners. This gathering was met with intervention from the Islamic Republic's security forces and widespread arrests of protesters. The statement noted that about 500 people were arrested during these protests, many of whom were released after a while, but several detainees, including Rahim Qamishi, Mohammad Baqer Bakhtiar, and Mohsen Qashqai Zadeh, remain in custody. Among the signatories of the statement are 'Sepideh Abtahi, Hassan Asadi Zaid Abadi, Ebrahim Afshar, Morteza Alviri, Shahrbanu Amani, Hamid Asafi, Hamed Ayeneh Vand, Habibollah Peyman, Nasser Daneshfar, Khosrow Delirsani, Masoumeh Dehghan, Saeed Rezavi Faqih, Hossein Rafiei, Parvaneh Salhashouri, Davood Soleimani, Firoozeh Saber, Keyvan Samimi, Tahereh Taleghani, Parvin Fahimi, Farajollah Kamijani, Katayoun Golrokh, Fakhr al-Sadat Mohtashami Pour, Badr al-Sadat Mofidi, Zhila Makvandi, Saeed Montazeri, Saideh Montazeri, Abdollah Momeni, Abdollah Naseri, and Sedigheh Vosoughi.' Previously, Asghar Jahangir, spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's judiciary, accused the detainees of the February 14 gathering of 'disturbing public order' and stated that 'investigations' into some of these individuals are ongoing. The arrest of Rahim Qamishi, who called for a gathering in protest against Mousavi's house arrest, was noted, as well as the judiciary's assertion that the recent detainees 'were seeking to disturb public order.' Some of those arrested during the February 14 gathering in Tehran remain imprisoned, with government forces deployed in central Tehran and widespread arrests of protesters.