Nobakht: The Issue of House Arrest Has Been Discussed in the Supreme National Security Council

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, announced on Tuesday, September 7, that discussions regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results have taken place in the Supreme National Security Council. He expressed hope that with the withdrawal of security forces, 'subsequent steps' would also be taken. According to ISNA news agency, Nobakht did not specify these 'steps' but mentioned the hunger strike of Mehdi Karroubi and the withdrawal of security forces from his home, stating: 'Regarding the withdrawal of security forces, the Minister of Intelligence reported that this has occurred.' Mehdi Karroubi declared a dry hunger strike on August 25, demanding a trial and the removal of agents from his place of house arrest. Following reports of Karroubi's deteriorating health, the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Intelligence met with him and agreed to his demand for the removal of agents from his home. Subsequently, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, announced the end of his father's hunger strike and stated that the government would make every effort to fulfill the second condition, which is a public trial for Mr. Karroubi. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson for the judiciary, described the reports regarding this matter as 'absolute lies' on August 29, questioning 'who said' that the promise of the withdrawal of security agents from Mehdi Karroubi's home 'has been implemented. This is an absolute lie.' In response, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi tweeted reacting to Mohseni Eje'i's remarks: 'The government has committed that security agents will leave the house when my father returns to the place of house arrest, and control of the house arrest will be conducted from outside.' According to ISNA, the government spokesperson on Tuesday commented on the Tehran prosecutor's statements regarding the judiciary's readiness to trial Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, saying: 'The formation of a court is within the jurisdiction of the judiciary, but I attended the Supreme National Security Council meeting where good and precise discussions were raised, the summary of which will be reported by the council's secretary.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi on Monday, September 6, at the 'seventh meeting of the Tehran Prosecutor's Council' conditioned the trial of Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard on 'the provision of conditions.' Nevertheless, he did not provide further explanations on this matter. According to ISNA, he also stated: 'The system's decision in 2009 was house arrest, and the claim that some consider the house arrest to be baseless is unacceptable. House arrest is a resolution of the Supreme National Security Council and is considered a system decision, which the Ministry of Intelligence and the judiciary are responsible for implementing.' The Tehran prosecutor's statements regarding the Supreme National Security Council's resolution for implementing house arrest come at a time when Iranian government officials have repeatedly denied this issue. For instance, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated during this year's election campaign that the Supreme National Security Council did not have a resolution for the house arrest of these three individuals. At that time, Hassan Rouhani was the head of this council. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest without any trial since March 2011, while reports from their families indicate their poor health conditions due to the house arrest. Many requests have been made regarding the lifting of the house arrest or holding a trial for these three individuals. Among them, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, on August 30, called for providing reasons for opposing the request for a public trial for the detainees. Nevertheless, none of these requests have been realized so far.