PourMohammadi: Lifting House Arrest is Outside the Government's Decision-Making Authority

The Iranian Minister of Justice stated that lifting the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 presidential election protests is outside the "decision-making authority" of Hassan Rouhani's government, while also noting that the government has decided to actively engage in other areas where it has a "share." According to the state news agency IRNA, Mostafa PourMohammadi said on Wednesday, December 3, in response to a question about whether the government has a plan to lift the house arrest, "We have repeatedly said that this issue is outside the decision-making authority of the government." He added, "The government has decided to focus on its own domain and try to actively engage in areas where it has a share." Ali Younesi, a senior advisor to the Iranian president on ethnic and minority affairs, had previously stated that Hassan Rouhani's government has no authority regarding the lifting of house arrest for the leaders of the 2009 presidential election protests, but "if the atmosphere becomes normal and calm, it may be able to fulfill its promise in this regard." On the same day, Hossein Kamali, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Labor Party, at a conference of this party, without referring to a specific case, said that those who engage in party work should not face "conflict and house arrest." He emphasized, "We have been discussing political, economic, and social issues for a long time and that individuals want to engage in party work. Therefore, those who want to engage in party work should not face conflict and house arrest." Mr. Kamali added, "Political and social freedoms of the people must be guaranteed, and if someone has a dissenting opinion, why should they be arrested?" Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Previously, some political parties and figures in Iran had written letters to Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, demanding the pursuit of lifting their house arrest. Among them, Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, on October 7, wrote a letter to Mr. Rouhani asking him, as president and head of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, to take action to lift the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, and in case of "negligence," this issue will be pursued "in the form of a question" from the president in parliament. Mr. Motahari had said earlier that in a meeting with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Khamenei told him that the "crime" of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi is "very great" and that if they are tried, a "heavy sentence" awaits them. He had emphasized at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad that he was not convinced by the Supreme Leader's remarks and still insists that house arrest without a judicial order is "oppression." These remarks by Mr. Motahari have led to reactions from Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, and some representatives from this city in parliament. For instance, the newspaper Etemad reported on Thursday, December 4, that Jawad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from the Stability Front in parliament, has called for the annulment of Mr. Motahari's credentials. The representative from Mashhad in parliament stated that the "supervisory board on the behavior of representatives" has the authority to annul the credentials of parliament representatives, but the Etemad newspaper considered Mr. Qodosi's threat to be a "political maneuver."