Parliament Deems Ali Motahari's Question on House Arrest Irrelevant

Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly considered the Justice Minister's response to Ali Motahari's question regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement as 'convincing.' Alireza Avaei, the Justice Minister, stated that the house arrest was a decision made by the Supreme National Security Council and is beyond his jurisdiction. The parliament members voted with 95 in favor, 95 against, and 15 abstentions out of 223 present, deeming the Minister's answers 'convincing.' Following this vote, Masoud Pezeshkian, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, announced that the representatives' vote indicated their belief that the issue of lifting the house arrest is not within the Justice Minister's authority and that their vote did not signify opposition to lifting the house arrest. According to ISNA news agency, during the voting process, Javad Karimi Qodousi, a representative from Mashhad, shouted 'Death to the seditionist,' and some members of the Front of Steadfastness, including Hossein Ali Haji Deligani and Mohammad Javad Abtahi, protested vocally against the question. In the public session of parliament, the Justice Minister stated that as a liaison between the judiciary and parliament, he had followed up on Ali Motahari's question regarding the continuation of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders with the judiciary, and the officials of this branch responded that this action was based on a decision by the Supreme National Security Council. However, Ali Motahari declared that the continued house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard is illegal based on the Supreme National Security Council's decision, and the judiciary must hold a trial for them. He added, 'The judiciary and the Justice Minister are merely spectators, and whenever they fall short, they invoke the authority of the Leader to cover their lack of will.' Previously, some political figures, including Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, had stated that lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi is only possible with the Leader's consent. Meanwhile, the news website Saham News, close to Mehdi Karroubi, reported on Thursday, August 2, that Hassan Rouhani, the President, had called for the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, but the Leader of the Islamic Republic opposed this again. Officials from the judiciary had previously announced that the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders was based on a decision by the Supreme National Security Council, but Hassan Rouhani denied the existence of such a decision. Mr. Motahari, in his remarks on Tuesday in parliament, stated, 'This policy, which unfortunately has become common in the Islamic Republic, is to place socially supported critics under house arrest until they are on the verge of death, and then we release them, is against religious law, reason, citizens' rights, and the constitution.' He added, 'Sometimes they say the condition for their freedom is repentance. Where in Islam is such a ruling found? It becomes clear that the goal is not to implement justice but merely to bow and show reverence, based on the delusion that if they are released without repentance, the authority of the regime will be harmed; whereas if they are freed, the regime's position will be elevated, and their freedom is fundamentally a sign of the regime's authority.' Mr. Motahari also called for the issue of lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders to be resolved through parliament, similar to the freedom of American hostages, adding that 'perhaps the Leader would be willing for the issue to be resolved through parliament.' Hassan Rouhani had promised to lift the house arrest in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, and since the beginning of 2018, criticisms from reformist figures regarding his failure to pursue the issue of house arrest have increased. Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, called for the freedom of Mousavi, Karroubi, and all political prisoners in Iran in a statement on the seventh anniversary of the house arrest of Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi. Since mid-last year, changes have occurred in the conditions of house arrest, and some relatives of the detainees have met with them, and news has been published about the meetings of Ismail Doosti and Mojtaba Zolnoor with Mehdi Karroubi. However, Zahra Rahnavard reported in May that she had recently been verbally offered 'limited movement rights' with the knowledge of the authorities, which she rejected.