Member of Parliament: Karroubi's Letter Caused a Delay in Lifting House Arrest

More than seven years after the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, the spokesperson for the parliamentary board announced the formation of a committee under the supervision of 'one of the institutions' to lift the house arrest, stating that Mehdi Karroubi's letter caused a delay in the process. Behrouz Nemati, in an interview with ISNA news agency, said, 'A committee has been formed under the supervision of one of the institutions to lift the house arrest, which is currently preparing the necessary conditions for this matter.' He did not name this institution. Previously, several members of parliament and government officials had expressed optimism about lifting the house arrest, which did not materialize. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the Green Movement, have been under house arrest since March 2011 following protests against the presidential election results. Behrouz Nemati stated that Mehdi Karroubi's recent letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic caused a 'delay' in the process of lifting the house arrest. In an open letter to the Supreme Leader in February 2018, Mehdi Karroubi referred to the process of eliminating significant figures and 'interference' by military personnel in elections, writing: 'For three decades, you have been at the head of the system and still speak from the position of an opposition. In these three decades, a significant part of the original forces of the revolution has been sidelined to implement your desired policies, and today you are facing the results of those policies.' He added: 'Accountability is the duty of all officials of the system, and you, who have changed the functions of institutions and organizations like the IRGC, Basij, Guardian Council, revolutionary institutions, Friday prayer leaders, and state media according to your perspective and policies, should pay more attention to this important matter than others.' Now, Behrouz Nemati says this letter has caused a 'delay' in the process of lifting the house arrest. He stated: 'This committee had made good progress in lifting the house arrest, and the work had progressed well to certain stages, but events occurred that slowed this process down. It seems that the letter Mr. Karroubi recently published caused a delay in this process, and in my opinion, if this letter had not been issued, the work would have reached a conclusion sooner.' He added: 'I am in contact with some members of this committee, and after the holidays, we need to talk to them and see how the work continues.' On March 3 of last year, Gholamreza Heydari, a member of the Hope faction and a member of the committee to lift the house arrest, wrote on Twitter: 'According to the latest sessions and negotiations we have had with the esteemed leaders of the powers and Mr. Shamkhani, our inference has been that an opening for meetings with the house-arrested individuals has been created, and God willing, the house arrest will be lifted by the New Year.' The day after that, during a memorial ceremony for Ehtejam al-Sadat Nobaveh, the mother of Zahra Rahnavard, Qasem Mirzaei Neko, a representative from Damavand, referred to Gholamreza Heydari's statements, saying: 'We have received promises from some officials, and part of the atmosphere has opened up.' However, at that time, Alireza Rahimi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, wrote on his Telegram channel: 'It is clear that we cannot convey the repeated and ineffective promises of some officials in private negotiations regarding the definite promise of lifting the house arrest during Nowruz to the people.' On the other hand, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President, told reporters on March 27 that important orders had been issued regarding the house arrest and that the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council was also following up. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had said in July 2014 that Ayatollah Khamenei, in response to his request to lift the house arrest, had said: 'Their crime is significant, and if the Imam were here, he would have dealt with them more severely. If they are tried, their sentence will be very heavy, and you will certainly not be satisfied. We have currently shown leniency towards them.' Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, on February 15, at the end of the seventh anniversary of the house arrest of Rahnavard, Mousavi, and Karroubi, issued a statement calling for their release and all prisoners of conscience who are 'unjustly' imprisoned.