Mehdi Karroubi's Son: Chief Justice Supports Ending House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders

Mehdi Karroubi's son announced that the Chief Justice has expressed support for ending the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement during a meeting with parliamentary representatives. Hossein Karroubi stated in an interview with the 'Etemad' newspaper that Sadegh Larijani, the Chief Justice, indicated he is not in favor of continuing the house arrest. The members of the Committee for Lifting House Arrest, formed within the Hope faction of the parliament, had met with the Chief Justice on October 28 last year. Meanwhile, Gholamreza Heydari, a member of this committee, described the meeting as 'good and hopeful regarding the reduction of restrictions for the detainees.' The remarks by Mehdi Karroubi's son come at a time when Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stated on March 5 that the Supreme National Security Council has made no changes to its resolution regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 protests, but if the council's resolution changes, they will be tried. Additionally, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, mentioned on April 7 that 'differences of opinion among judicial and security officials' are among the reasons that have prevented the lifting of the house arrest of the 2009 protest leaders despite some promises. On March 16, 2018, Motahari also stated that 'senior security and intelligence officials' had promised that the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard would be lifted by the end of the year, but they did not fulfill this promise. In this context, Elias Hazrati, a representative from Tehran, also informed President Hassan Rouhani in an open letter on April 2 that the decision regarding the lifting of the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard has been delegated to the Supreme National Security Council with the permission of the Supreme Leader. This member of the Hope faction in parliament urged Rouhani, as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, to 'take a historic decision.' In another part of his interview with 'Etemad,' Hossein Karroubi stated: 'Just as Mr. Rouhani was able to get the JCPOA approved with his management and decisiveness, if he is serious about lifting the house arrest, he can definitely do it.' He emphasized: 'As the President of the Supreme National Security Council, Mr. Rouhani can persuade the Secretary of this council to put the issue of lifting the house arrest on the agenda.' In recent months, changes have occurred in the status of the house arrest, and in addition to several political activists successfully meeting with Mehdi Karroubi, the restrictions on the timing of meetings between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard with their daughters have also been lifted. Hossein Karroubi mentioned that during Nowruz, 'all relatives' of his father, including nephews and nieces, were allowed to visit, and some of them have met with Mr. Karroubi, with plans for another group to meet him soon. Behrouz Namati, a member of the parliament's presiding board, stated on the first of Farvardin that Mehdi Karroubi's letter to the Supreme Leader caused a delay in the process of lifting the house arrest. Following this, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, confirmed that three security officials had made similar statements in a conversation with his mother. However, according to Mr. Karroubi, his mother responded to these security officials by saying: 'If there is sincerity in your words, then end the house arrest of Engineer Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard, who have not written any letters.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, have been under house arrest since February 2011. Previously, officials in Hassan Rouhani's government had repeatedly promised to pursue the lifting of the house arrest, but this issue, which was one of Rouhani's electoral slogans five years ago, has remained unresolved. In this context, the families of Mr. Mousavi and Karroubi and several political activists have repeatedly criticized the Rouhani government for not taking practical steps to lift the house arrest.