Mohammad Taghi Karroubi: Security Forces Have Left My Father's Home

Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, son of Mehdi Karroubi, one of the leaders of the 2009 election protestors, emphasized that security forces have left his father's home, stating that his father is being discharged from the hospital and returning to his place of house arrest. On Wednesday, September 8, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi told Radio Farda that the process of transferring security agents from his father's house began last night and that the agents have left with all their equipment. He stressed that a booth has been set up in front of his father's home in the Jamaran area for the presence of agents, and due to Mr. Karroubi's absence from home, it is still unclear how the continuation of house arrest and the possibility of visiting Mehdi Karroubi will be structured. Mehdi Karroubi had gone on a hunger strike on Wednesday, August 16, demanding the removal of security forces from his place of house arrest and the holding of a public trial. After the first day of his hunger strike, he was transferred to Tehran Heart Hospital, stating that he would not end his hunger strike until his demands were met. The next day, it was announced that Mehdi Karroubi ended his hunger strike following the presence of the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in the hospital and their commitment to remove the agents from the house arrest location. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, called the claim of security forces leaving Mehdi Karroubi's house arrest a complete lie. Regarding Mehdi Karroubi's second demand for a public trial, various news has emerged recently. The Minister of Justice and the Tehran Prosecutor have both reported their 'readiness' to prepare for a trial 'if conditions allow.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran Prosecutor, announced on Tuesday that the judiciary is prepared to trial the leaders of the 2009 protests. According to ILNA news agency, the Tehran Prosecutor referred to the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard as a 'decision of the system' and stated, 'It is unacceptable that some consider the house arrest to be baseless.' On Wednesday, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, also reported that discussions about house arrest have been raised in the Supreme National Security Council, stating, 'With the departure of security forces, further steps will be taken.' Previously, Yadollah Javani, advisor to the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guards, stated that if a trial for the detainees is held, they must prove their claims of election fraud in 2009 to be acquitted. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest without trial since March 2011, while reports from their families indicate their health has deteriorated due to the house arrest. Several officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, have repeatedly stated that the continuation of the house arrest of these three is at the request of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.