Justice Minister's Response to Motahari: Lifting House Arrest is a Legal Issue, Not a Media One

Mostafa PourMohammadi, the Iranian Minister of Justice, stated on Tuesday that discussions regarding the lifting of house arrest for the leaders of the 2009 protests are legal and specialized matters that should be addressed in legal circles rather than in the media. This statement came a few days after his remarks about the 'non-legal and judicial nature' of the house arrest issue provoked a reaction from Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament. PourMohammadi had previously said that 'the issue of house arrest is not a legal-judicial discussion' and added that 'discussions related to house arrest are undoubtedly considered political and security matters.' In response, Motahari published an open letter warning against categorizing punishments arbitrarily into political-security and legal-judicial categories, arguing that this creates a dangerous precedent that distances the country from democracy and contradicts constitutional principles regarding the rights of defendants and criminals. According to Fars News Agency, two days after Motahari's letter, PourMohammadi reiterated that these discussions should be held in legal forums, not in the media, as media discussions politicize the issue and lead to political consequences. He emphasized that addressing this issue does not help resolve the underlying problem and criticized journalists for not contributing to a solution. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two candidates who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election, along with Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest since March 2011. Motahari has been actively pursuing the issue of lifting their house arrest through judicial and executive channels, but PourMohammadi stated that the decision to lift the house arrest is beyond the authority of the three branches of government and is discussed and pursued by the Supreme National Security Council. Motahari warned that expanding the powers of the Supreme National Security Council beyond Article 176 of the Constitution paves the way for autocracy. Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani, in his latest comments regarding the issue, stated that he has made efforts to resolve political problems but added that not everything needs to be publicly declared. Regarding the case of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist detained since July 22 of last year on charges of 'espionage' and 'actions against national security,' PourMohammadi noted that it remains a political issue of which he has no knowledge. He also mentioned that the case has not yet led to a final conviction and must go through the necessary stages.