Javad Larijani: Mousavi and Karroubi Punished by Revocation of Social Rights Due to Rebellion

As nearly two thousand days have passed since the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary has stated that these leaders of the protests against the 2009 election results have been punished "by revocation of social rights" according to the law. In a press conference on Sunday, August 1, Mohammad Javad Larijani responded to a question by saying, "Those who were involved in the 2009 unrest and committed a coup and rebellion against the regime have faced legal prosecution, and what the headquarters deems necessary is to ensure that the law is upheld." He added, "Specific restrictions were considered for the leaders of the unrest, and based on the law, some were punished by revocation of social rights; thus, the law must be applied to the convicted and accused, and the judiciary is responsible for enforcement and issuance of sentences." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic and his associates refer to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi as the "leaders of the unrest," and the Supreme Leader recently emphasized in a meeting with students that he remains sensitive to the events of 2009 even after seven years. Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi have been under house arrest without trial for nearly two thousand days, and since February 2011, the only change in their situation has been the transfer of Karroubi's house arrest from the Ministry of Intelligence's "safe house" to his home in Jamaran in February 2014. Previously, some political parties and figures in Iran, including the Society of Teachers and Researchers of Qom Seminary, former President Mohammad Khatami, and Tehran MP Ali Motahari, have called for the lifting of the house arrest of these three individuals. Motahari has also called for the simultaneous trial of Mousavi, Karroubi, and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, in response, Sadeq Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary, has stated that whenever the Supreme National Security Council's resolution regarding the house arrest of these two individuals changes, the judiciary is ready to hold their trial. Although the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council has stated that this body cannot report on the house arrest under current conditions. Regarding the trial of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 election results, Mehdi Karroubi had previously asked Motahari in a message to pursue his "right" to a trial and to prepare the "necessary arrangements for holding an open court." Karroubi also wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani emphasizing that he does not consider the lifting of the house arrest to be "within his control," and requested that Rouhani ask the "tyrannical regime" to put him on trial in an "open court." Previously, several officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have announced that the decision regarding the lifting of the house arrest of these three individuals is solely in the hands of the Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday, July 3, responded to a student's question about the house arrest by emphasizing that he remains sensitive to the protests against the 2009 presidential election.