Note: A Look at Two Letters from Mehdi Karroubi from House Arrest

Since his house arrest seven years ago, Karroubi has not been able to release even a minute of recorded sound to the outside. However, during these long years, he has published two letters from house arrest that will immediately be regarded as documents of the Islamic Republic. His first letter, dated April 9, 2016, was addressed to Hassan Rouhani in his capacity as president, and the second letter, dated January 29, 2018, was addressed to Ali Khamenei in his capacity as leader. The tone, content, and objectives of these two letters are completely different, but they overlap in some respects. Karroubi wrote his first letter in a friendly and intimate tone addressed to his 'dear brother' Hassan Rouhani, the president. The main point of that letter was that the president, according to his legal duty, should ask the tyrannical regime [read Khamenei] to 'form a public court, even with the composition desired by the masters of power, to... inform the public of the evidence regarding the fraud in the 2005 presidential election, the engineering of the 2009 presidential election, and what happened to the children of this country in legal and illegal detention centers.' He emphasized that 'I wholeheartedly accept the ruling issued by this court and welcome it without considering the right to appeal.' (Refer to 'Five Points in Mehdi Karroubi's Historical Letter') However, his second letter began with a purely formal tone addressed to 'Ayatollah Haj Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,' but he skillfully crafted the letter's atmosphere to resemble an 'indictment' against Khamenei in the presence of the 'court' of the nation. Nevertheless, the purpose of the letter is a benevolent advice for Khamenei to undertake fundamental reforms. The timing of this letter is very important. He spent seven years in house arrest without ever addressing Khamenei. But what made him address Khamenei now? The answer can be seen in the widespread protests of December, which swept the country. He considers this situation to be Khamenei's record. To put it more accurately, in his first letter, he demanded the establishment of a court for himself from the tyrannical regime. But in his second letter, he has brought the tyrannical regime itself to court. The description of this indictment is so lengthy that while the first letter was about 1,400 words, Karroubi used nearly 5,000 words in the second letter [read indictment]. There is no doubt that he has much more to say, but he has summarized the most important points in this brief. In the introduction of this letter, Karroubi refers to a statement by Khamenei regarding his correspondence with the leader. After seven years of house arrest, he not only did not come out for the sake of grievance and repentance, but firmly based on his beliefs, he has brought Khamenei to trial and holds him responsible for all this destruction. He reminds Khamenei of his statement that those who had and have managerial capabilities in the country 'have no right to play the role of opposition and must be accountable.' Using this logic, he reminds Khamenei that after eight years as president and nearly 29 years in the position of leadership, as the ruler and absolute guardian, it is Khamenei who 'must accept that the current political, economic, cultural, and social situation of the country is a direct result of his strategic and executive policies.' So far, no text has come out from Mir-Hossein Mousavi, but Karroubi has published two important letters that will undoubtedly be considered historical documents of the Islamic Republic. In the first letter, he demanded his trial to share his thoughts with the people. But this time, following the widespread protests of December, he deemed it appropriate to publish his second letter, effectively bringing Khamenei to court and highlighting his rejected managerial record in light of the December protests. This is the court where Karroubi places Khamenei from the position of 'wise leader' to that of 'defendant,' a defendant responsible for all this destruction. The text of Karroubi's indictment against Khamenei, which transforms his letter into a historical document, contains points including: accountability of the leader. Karroubi, stating that 'the principle of accountability is non-negotiable,' lashes out at Khamenei: 'For three decades you have been at the head of the system and still speak from the position of an opposition... Accountability is the duty of all officials of the system, and you, who have altered the functions of institutions and organizations like the IRGC, Basij, Guardian Council, revolutionary institutions, Friday prayer leaders, and state media according to your views and policies, should pay more attention to this important matter [accountability].' The scythe of the Guardian Council, the slaughter of prominent individuals. Karroubi, recalling the elimination of prominent individuals in the elections of the second Assembly of Experts onwards, reminds Khamenei that he has rendered this 'cornerstone' of the Constitution 'ineffective.' He writes that 'I believe the root of all the country's current troubles lies in this point' because 'its output has been a rubber-stamp parliament whose only annual duty is to praise.' He then lashes out at Khamenei with several examples: 'Isn't it the case that the position of leadership is to prevent the late Hashemi Rafsanjani from participating in the presidential election one day and to eliminate Seyyed Hassan Khomeini and Javad Hojjati-Kermani from participating in the Assembly of Experts elections the next?' He then uses the phrase 'the scythe of the Guardian Council' to pose the question: 'What dreams do some have for the Experts that to realize those dreams, everyone must be slaughtered in this path?' Destroying the independence of the seminary. Karroubi then addresses an important issue, which is the undermining of the independence of seminaries by security and governmental institutions. He writes, 'To preserve the religion and dignity of Shia clergy, I urgently ask you to end the interference of security and governmental institutions in the seminaries. Allow the grand jurists and clergy of the country to have freedom of action and, as in the past, be a refuge and sanctuary for the people... The seminaries, contrary to Imam's view, have become contaminated with the ruling power's money. Do you remember that during Imam's time, no budget was allocated from the public treasury to the seminaries, and the seminaries were managed from the religious dues of the people and with the opinion of the grand jurists?' The masses are a powder keg. He reminds Khamenei of the widespread protests in December, stating that over 50% of the country's wealth is in the hands of a few governing institutions that are not subject to any oversight. He concludes that 'in such circumstances, it is natural that the masses and the lower classes of society become a powder keg.' Promotion and demotion of individuals. In a corner of the letter, Karroubi uses Ahmadinejad as an example to illustrate Khamenei's behavior, showing how he once promoted Ahmadinejad and at another time deprived him of his right to participate in elections. He writes: 'In 2005, when Mr. Ahmadinejad was considered by some to be among the political figures, he was approved by you with a positive view... However, in 2017, when he intended to participate in the elections again after eight years in the presidency and your unprecedented support, they could no longer argue about his political figure status. You first prohibited him from entering the elections, and when he did not comply, you disqualified him. Is it really the position of leadership to elevate someone to power with such leverage one day and then deprive that same person of a simple right the next?' The IRGC's involvement in the economy and politics. Karroubi then attacks the IRGC's involvement in the economy and politics, writing, 'Contrary to the explicit text of the Constitution and the explicit view of Imam, the IRGC and Basij have entered political and economic activities during your leadership, the disastrous results of which are not hidden from anyone these days.' He adds, 'This approach has not only severely undermined the existential nature of this great revolutionary institution in the eyes of the people but has also entangled them in corruption and major scandals.' The downward slope of decline. He then refers to the IRGC's involvement in engineering elections and questions whether this method has not led the country to a downward slope of decline and internal and international crises? Shouldn't you be accountable for the regrettable output of that, which we have repeatedly warned about?' Acknowledgment of the possibility of fraud in elections. Karroubi then refers to the rejection of the possibility of fraud in the June 2009 elections according to Khamenei's claim, posing the question of why Khamenei, regarding the last presidential election in which Rouhani was elected with 24 million votes, said on June 16, 2017, 'Fraud in elections is not appropriate for the Islamic Republic, and officials must seriously pursue these matters and identify the offenders so that such fraud does not occur in future elections that the Iranian people have ahead of them, because if we turn a blind eye to fraud and disregard it, the frauds will be repeated.' He asks, 'How do you respond to this blatant contradiction? When the people, with their unprecedented presence, reject the candidate supported by the regime [Ahmadinejad] and civilly protest against the engineering of their votes, you confront them and speak to them with authority, denying the possibility of fraud. But when your preferred candidate [Ebrahim Raisi] loses with a significant margin under the complete oversight and intervention of his supporters in the Guardian Council, you speak of serious action by officials against fraud.' The guardianship of the jurist suspends reason. Karroubi then addresses a central point, identifying the root of all this fraud in the misinterpretation of the guardianship of the jurist. He writes, 'The interpretation that the official media of the government has presented of the guardianship of the jurist over the years means nothing but the suspension of collective reason and the creation of an individual autocratic system.' He then poses the question, 'How do you intend to hand over this wild donkey of power to another without purging and structurally reforming the system? For even a moment, imagine that this unlawful interpretation of the unchecked powers of the jurist is placed in the hands of another individual after you, and that individual seeks to impose their opinions and views on a nation without oversight and accountability. What a catastrophic image would you envision for that day?' A benevolent word. In his final remarks, Karroubi reminds Khamenei that 'there is a difference as vast as the sky between what we wanted during the struggle and what has actually happened.' He then writes benevolently, 'Before it is too late, prepare the ground for structural reforms of the system so that the people who brought us from the corners of prisons to power on February 11 can practically govern their own destiny.'