Karrubi's Son: Three Security Officials Claimed My Father's Letter Prevented Lifting the House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders

The son of Mehdi Karrubi rejected the statements of Behrouz Namati, a member of the parliamentary board, claiming that his father's letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has hindered the lifting of house arrest for the leaders of the Green Movement. He stated that their house arrest has 'no criterion or basis other than the will of the power holders.' In this context, Ali Mohammad Dashti, a Shia cleric, said on the third of Farvardin that based on officials' statements, he had expected the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders to be lifted during Nowruz. Mohammad Taghi Karrubi, in an interview with the Saham News website, said that 'three members of the security apparatus' in a meeting with his mother made statements similar to those of Behrouz Namati, claiming that Mehdi Karrubi's letter to the Supreme Leader has prevented the lifting of his house arrest. According to Mohammad Taghi Karrubi, Fatemeh Karrubi told these security officials that 'if there is sincerity in your words, then end the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi and Mrs. Rahnavard, who have not written any letters.' He emphasized that the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders 'has so far had no criterion or basis other than the will of the power holders, and security and judicial officials have repeatedly confirmed this in their statements.' Referring to seven years of 'illegal and arbitrary' house arrest, he added: 'It would be better for friends, whether those who read the government's intentions or those who make empty promises, to speak a little more clearly and respect the rights of the detainees and their families.' Behrouz Namati had stated on the first of Farvardin that Mehdi Karrubi's letter to the Supreme Leader caused a delay in the process of lifting the house arrest. This parliament member also mentioned in an interview with the Rouydad 24 website the statements of Mojtaba Zolnour, a member of the Stability Front, in a meeting with Mehdi Karrubi as one of the reasons for writing this letter. He added: 'Certainly part of it stems from the transfer of Mr. Zolnour's statements. The text of that letter indicated that he had been provoked.' Mr. Namati also said: 'The issue of lifting the house arrest was progressing well until after that meeting, everything fell apart.' Mojtaba Zolnour, a representative from Qom and a member of the Stability Front, had met with Mehdi Karrubi on the evening of the 25th of Aban. In an open letter to the Supreme Leader, published on the 10th of Bahman, Mehdi Karrubi held him responsible for the current political, economic, cultural, and social situation in Iran and called for 'creating the ground for structural reform of the system.' Mehdi Karrubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since February 2011 as leaders of the protests against the 2009 election results, and requests for an end to their house arrest or trial have so far yielded no results. Previously, some parliament members and officials of Hassan Rouhani's government had expressed hope that their house arrest would be lifted by the end of 2017. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dashti, a cleric based in Shiraz, in his Nowruz visit, referring to 'officials' promises,' said: 'We expected Mr. Mousavi, Mrs. Rahnavard, and Mr. Karrubi to be freed in Farvardin.' Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, said on the 25th of Esfand that 'senior security and intelligence officials' did not fulfill their promise to lift the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders by the end of the year, and he would continue to pursue the issue in 2018. Two days later, Es'hagh Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran, announced that the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council had taken 'good measures' to lift the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders and expressed hope that this would happen in the coming year. Previously, officials in Hassan Rouhani's government had repeatedly promised to pursue the lifting of the house arrest, but this issue, which was also part of Hassan Rouhani's electoral slogans, has not yet been realized. The families of Mousavi and Karrubi and several political activists have criticized the Rouhani government for not taking practical steps to lift the house arrest. However, in recent months, changes have occurred in the status of the house arrest, and in addition to several political activists successfully having individual meetings with Mr. Karrubi, the restrictions on the scheduling of meetings between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard with their daughters have also been lifted.