Iran's Foreign Ministry Condemns US Request for the Release of Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard

On Wednesday, February 15, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry criticized the US State Department's request for the release of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard. Mark Toner, the spokesperson for the US State Department, had called for the 'immediate release of these individuals and all political prisoners unjustly imprisoned in Iran' in a statement marking the sixth year of house arrest for Karroubi and Mousavi, both candidates who protested the results of the 2009 elections, and Rahnavard. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, responded to the US statement by saying, 'The government and people of Iran have a very bitter experience of the sporadic and unnecessary verbal interventions of American officials in their internal affairs and do not accept such interventionist statements at all.' Qasemi added, 'The Islamic Republic of Iran has always emphasized that the Iranian government, while adhering to its international obligations, considers the implementation of constitutional principles regarding the observance of citizens' rights as one of its main priorities; undoubtedly, issuing such statements is seen as biased, suspicious, inappropriate, and an action with specific political goals, and it strongly condemns it.' In his statement, Mark Toner noted that Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard are 'under house arrest without formal charges' and stated, 'Their continued house arrest contradicts Iran's international obligations, including the commitment to provide at least guaranteed fair trial rights and to refrain from placing citizens under arbitrary detention and arrest, based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Iran is a member. We join the global community in condemning the continued arbitrary detention of these three without formal charges or fair trial and calling for their immediate release.' The US State Department spokesperson emphasized, 'Iran must respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals in Iran, in accordance with its international obligations, including guaranteeing the right to peaceful expression for all individuals and the right of its citizens to participate in the global community and political process without fear of arbitrary arrest or detention or deprivation of fair trials.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protesters against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest since February 2011 without a 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. The leaders of the 2009 election protesters have repeatedly called for a public trial, but as stated by Ali Motahari, a member of parliament, and some other officials of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has opposed their trial or lifting of their house arrest. In this context, the demand for the release of Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi has been reiterated in an 'open letter to the heads of the three branches of government,' with Motahari emphasizing that the house arrest of Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi is unconstitutional. Karroubi's son emphasized that his father is 'eager' to have a public trial.