Motahari: Disagreement Among Judicial and Security Officials is the Reason for Continued House Arrest

Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, mentioned that the disagreement between judicial and security officials is one of the reasons why, contrary to some promises, the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 protests has not been lifted. On Saturday, April 6, in an interview with ISNA news agency, Motahari stated that judicial and security officials had informed parliament representatives months ago of their intention to end the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi. However, he noted that 'there is disagreement among officials, including judicial and security, on this issue' and 'some officials may not have a positive view on this matter.' He said that 'high-ranking officials' whom parliament representatives have met are in favor of lifting the house arrest, but those opposing it are also 'not without influence.' The Deputy Speaker did not specify which officials from which institution opposed the lifting of the house arrest. On March 16, 2018, Motahari had also stated that 'senior security and intelligence officials' had promised that the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard would be lifted by the end of the year, but they did not fulfill this promise. In response to these remarks, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, said that the Supreme National Security Council has 'not changed its resolution' regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 protests, but if this council's resolution changes, they will be prosecuted. In this context, Elias Hazrati, a representative from Tehran in parliament, also reported in an open letter to Hassan Rouhani 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 leader of the Islamic Republic's permission. This member of the Hope faction in parliament urged Rouhani, as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, to 'take a historic decision.' On April 5, Motahari and several members of the Hope faction met with the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard. According to the Kaleme website, the daughters stated that the 'recent openings' regarding their parents and Karroubi are 'drops in a bucket' and that 'the security conditions of house arrest on their homes and protection and movement are still ongoing as before.' In recent months, changes have occurred in the status of 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. Behrouz Namati, a member of the parliament's presiding board, stated on the first of Farvardin that a letter from Mehdi Karroubi to the leader of the Islamic Republic 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 made similar statements during a conversation with his mother. However, according to Karroubi, his mother responded to these security officials by saying, 'If there is sincerity in your words, then lift the house arrest of Engineer Mousavi and Mrs. Rahnavard, who have not written a letter.' Regarding the protests against compulsory hijab, Motahari stated in his interview that 'these protests do not have a social base.' He added that 'the media should not exaggerate this issue too much' and that the government's response should be 'with kindness and compassion' and 'certainly avoid harsh behavior towards them.' Motahari emphasized that 'some women appear in the streets in a way that constitutes unveiled behavior, and the government does not take action against them, so there is not a serious obligation in the true sense regarding the hijab issue. The government says that women and men should adhere to minimal standards in their clothing.' Recent public protests against compulsory hijab in various cities of Iran began in December 2017 and have led to the arrest of more than 35 women. Vida Mohammadi, Narges Hosseini, Azam Jangrooi, Shaparak Shajari Zadeh, and Maryam Shari'atmadari are among the women who have been arrested and later released. Among them, Maryam Shari'atmadari has been sentenced to one year in prison, and Narges Hosseini has been sentenced to two years in prison, three months of which are enforceable. Several political figures, such as Mostafa Tajzadeh, have opposed the compulsory hijab, and Alireza Beheshti, the son of Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, the first head of the Supreme Court of Iran after the revolution, has also stated that his father opposed compulsory hijab and did not enforce it until the last day of his judicial activities.