Mehdi Karroubi Hospitalized Due to Heart Condition

Mehdi Karroubi's son, a leader of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, announced on Tuesday that his father has been hospitalized due to a heart condition. Mohammad Taghi Karroubi told Radio Farda that a doctor from the Ministry of Intelligence examined his father and determined that he needed to be hospitalized. He refrained from mentioning the name of the hospital. He noted that Mehdi Karroubi had experienced heart discomfort two nights prior, which arose during his house arrest and the related issues. Previously, on March 15 of last year, Mr. Karroubi was transferred to the hospital for a heart examination and was returned home after the examination. Mohammad Taghi Karroubi also mentioned that since entering house arrest, his father has undergone six surgeries, despite having been in good health prior to that. These surgeries included procedures on his back, knee, urinary tract, eyes, and heart. Mehdi Karroubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since February 2011. Despite opposition from many political and social groups regarding the continued house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protests, judicial officials state that the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard is based on a resolution from the Supreme National Security Council. Hassan Rouhani, as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, has denied the issuance of such a resolution.