Mousavi's Children: We Were Kept in the Dark About Our Father's Illness

The children of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a leader of the 2009 protests, say that their father has suffered from a gastrointestinal illness in the past three days, causing him to lose several kilograms and requiring doctors to administer IV fluids. The Khabar Online website, close to Mousavi, reports that his children became aware of this during their weekly visit with him, as the authorities had concealed Mousavi's illness from his family. The report states that Mousavi is currently improving and in good health, but this restriction and lack of information about his condition have caused great concern for his daughters. They claim that despite regular weekly visits, they were 'systematically' prevented from entering the guarded gates controlled by the IRGC and were obstructed from approaching the house arrest location. According to the report, Mousavi's family has expressed that 'while expressing concern over the lack of information and protesting the lack of knowledge about their father's and mother's health, especially during times of illness, they hold the relevant authorities and the government responsible for any incidents, physical discomfort, and crises that may arise.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest without trial since late 2010. Their families have repeatedly expressed concern about their physical condition over the years. This week, Mohammad Ali Mohsenzadeh, head of the office of the Supreme Leader's representative in one of the IRGC brigades, made an unusual statement about Mousavi and Karroubi, labeling them as 'corrupt on earth' and stating that the punishment for such individuals is 'execution.' Last week, Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi, a senior advisor to the IRGC commander, accused Mousavi of being 'still delusional today and therefore does not repent or apologize.' The continued house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard, along with the harsh remarks from officials about them, comes despite the fact that the freedom of these individuals and other political prisoners was one of the main promises of Hassan Rouhani during his presidential campaign. Rouhani had stated in May 2013: 'It is not a problem to create conditions within a year for not only those under house arrest to be freed but even those imprisoned due to the events of 2009.' In one of his latest statements on this matter, in late November this year, in an exclusive interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, when asked, 'You promised two years ago that you would free the leaders of the Green Movement, Mousavi and Karroubi. Will you keep your promise?' he simply replied, 'They will be freed one day.'