National-Religious Activists: Rouhani Has Sufficient Authority to Intervene in the House Arrest Issue

A group of national-religious activists in the country wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, urging immediate action to lift the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement. They stated that as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, he has 'sufficient authority' to intervene in this matter and 'to persuade high-ranking officials of the system' regarding this issue. According to reports from several websites, including Zeytoon, the national-religious activists emphasized that during the presidential election, participants in every campaign rally called on Hassan Rouhani to work towards lifting the house arrest, indicating that 'this demand can be considered among national demands.' The letter stated that 'according to the opinion of nearly all independent and expert jurists in the country,' the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard 'violates multiple principles of the Constitution.' The activists also addressed Hassan Rouhani, stating that as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, he 'has sufficient authority to intervene in this matter and to persuade high-ranking officials of the system to reconsider this issue.' Signatories of the letter include Habibollah Payman, Alireza Rajei, Hamid Ahrari, Mohammad Basteh Negar, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Azam Taleghani, Fatemeh Ghoorayi, Saeed Madani, and Minou Morteza Langaroudi. In recent weeks, the topic of the recent Supreme National Security Council meeting regarding the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard has made headlines, with government and judiciary officials providing differing accounts of this meeting. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, along with Zahra Rahnavard, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, announced on Tuesday, September 7, that the issue of house arrest was discussed in the Supreme National Security Council and expressed hope that with the withdrawal of security forces from Mr. Karroubi's house arrest, 'further steps' would be taken. The withdrawal of security personnel from the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi was one of his two demands during his hunger strike, and government officials and Mr. Karroubi's family have reported the fulfillment of this condition. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesman, stated on Sunday, September 12, that no new decision was made in the recent Supreme National Security Council meeting and that 'the house arrest remains in effect.' Following that, Mr. Nobakht announced that the president's positions in the recent Supreme National Security Council meeting were 'clear, transparent, and courageous, but let us allow the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council to express them since the discussions have a security nature.' Subsequently, Keyvan Khosravi, the spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council, reported that the issue of house arrest was not on the agenda of the recent council meeting, and only a report regarding 'the openings created in the situation of the house-arrested individuals' was presented, and 'no new decision regarding the main issue of house arrest was made.' He stated without providing details that the comments of officials from other institutions regarding this matter 'interfere with the duties of the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council' and 'cannot comprehensively and fully explain the dimensions of the issue.' Previously, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, had stated that this body could not provide a report on the house arrest.