Khamenei's Representative in Basij: Lifting the House Arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi Must Be Approved by the Leader

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Basij Organization stated that efforts to lift the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi must be "secretive" and that the decision of the "legal centers" regarding this matter must ultimately be approved by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Reza Toiserkani emphasized that the efforts of individuals like Ali Motahari to lift the house arrest of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election result complicate the issue further. In an interview on Wednesday, December 24, with the Basij Press website, affiliated with the IRGC in Tehran, he said that lifting the house arrest has its own "specific security mechanisms" and that the "legal centers" that decided to impose the house arrest on these individuals also have the authority to lift it. Toiserkani added, "Whenever they decide, since their approval must be confirmed by the Leader of the Revolution, it is also valid for the people of Iran, and there is no problem." Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. In recent months, some political parties and figures in Iran, including the Society of Seminary Teachers and Researchers of Qom, former President Mohammad Khatami, and Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, have called for the lifting of the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard. In this regard, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran's Minister of Justice, stated on December 15 that the National Security Council is the decision-making body regarding the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, and that the government and judiciary cannot pursue this issue alone. Toiserkani further stated, "The efforts of individuals like Mr. Motahari complicate the issue and do not help in resolving it." He added, "If any efforts are to be made in this matter, they should be secretive and in accordance with reason and past experience; creating uproar and victimization, which are irrational behaviors, will not lead to any resolution." Ali Motahari has repeatedly called for the lifting of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi. On October 7, he wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, urging him, as President and Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, to take action to lift the house arrest of these three individuals, warning that if Rouhani "neglects" this issue, it will be pursued in the parliament as a question directed at the President. On July 29, Motahari also stated that in a meeting with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader described the crimes of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi as significant and indicated that heavy sentences awaited them if they were tried. This parliament member expressed his dissatisfaction with the Supreme Leader's statements in early December at a university in Mashhad, insisting that house arrest without a judicial order is "oppression." The representative of the Supreme Leader in the Basij Organization also mentioned that the "intelligence monitoring" of this organization in 2009 helped officials to "expose and control" what he described as "subversive" movements. He also noted the Basij's role in 2009 in supporting law enforcement in dealing with what he referred to as "street riots." Families of several victims of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results have claimed that their children were killed by Basij forces. However, Basij and IRGC commanders have denied these accusations. Toiserkani also stated that the Basij tries to prevent what he calls "potential seditions" through "enlightenment" and eliminate the grounds for the emergence of a "sedition." In recent months, some conservative media have warned about the activities of reformists for the upcoming tenth parliamentary elections. Najatollah Ebrahimian, the new spokesman for the Guardian Council, also stated on November 8 that protesting the results of the 2009 election is a "red line" for granting positions to individuals in the Islamic Republic, asserting that even the "repentance" of the 2009 protesters is insufficient for "major trusts" such as parliamentary representation.