Nobakht: Informing about the negotiations to lift house arrest does not help solve the problem

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesman for the eleventh government, on Friday, June 5, referred to the fact that Hassan Rouhani's government seeks to lift the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, stating: "Informing about the negotiations to lift the house arrest does not necessarily help solve this issue." In an interview with ILNA, responding to criticism that addressing and pursuing the issue of "lifting house arrest" from the perspective of ordinary citizens' rights reduces this political dilemma, he said: "These two issues are not mutually exclusive, and this right may be political, cultural, or social, but in any case, it is part of the rights of Iranian citizens." Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential elections, along with Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. The spokesman further stated in this interview, in response to a question regarding negotiations to lift the house arrest: "Certainly, these negotiations will also take place, but informing about these political negotiations does not necessarily help solve the problem." He emphasized: Mr. Rouhani wants this problem to be solved, and we will help him to resolve it. Lifting the house arrest was one of Hassan Rouhani's promises in the 2013 presidential election, which he was unable to fulfill. During the rallies in the 2017 presidential election, many chanted in support of lifting the house arrest. In one of these rallies in Kerman, Hassan Rouhani responded to chants for lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi by saying: "I promise you that I will convey your message and pursue it with all my strength." Reports indicate that Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi voted for Hassan Rouhani in the recent presidential election. In this context, Rouhani reiterated his "promise to lift the house arrest"; "I will pursue it with all my strength."