Special Assistant to Rouhani: Public Security Must Be Ensured Before Lifting House Arrest

The special assistant to the Iranian President on citizen rights announced that the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the 2009 election protestors, was implemented with the aim of "ensuring public security" and that this restriction should be lifted once the issue is resolved. Meanwhile, the head of the Hope faction in Parliament referred to the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders as a "demand of the third generation" and the "people," expressing hope that this issue would be resolved "in a good and friendly atmosphere." Elham Aminzadeh, the special assistant to the President on citizen rights, stated on Sunday, August 14, during a citizen rights brainstorming session, that the Supreme National Security Council decided to impose restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to "ensure the right to security of citizens." According to ILNA news agency, Aminzadeh emphasized that when the issue of "public security is resolved, the restrictions should also be lifted." She also noted that "we are not in a position to assess whether the desired security has been established or not, but we know that the security of citizens must be considered at a macro level." The special assistant also mentioned the "right to a trial" for Mousavi and Karroubi, stating that the "Security Council has made decisions" regarding their house arrest and "this body may decide on trial and lifting restrictions, etc." Aminzadeh's remarks come as Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, announced on Friday, July 2, that the council currently cannot report on the issue of the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard. The Iranian judiciary had previously stated that lifting the house arrest of these three individuals was contingent upon a resolution from the Supreme National Security Council, but Hassan Rouhani, as the head of the council, stated that there was no resolution regarding their house arrest. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest without trial for over two thousand days since late February 2011, with the only change being the transfer of Karroubi's house arrest from a "safe house" of the Ministry of Intelligence to his home in Jamaran in February 2014. During the 2013 presidential election campaign, Hassan Rouhani stated that the future government could create a "non-security atmosphere" to free those under house arrest and those imprisoned due to protests against the 2009 presidential election results. However, the families of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi criticized that pursuing this issue is "not a priority for the government." Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Hope faction in Parliament, announced on Sunday that lifting the house arrest is a demand from the "third generation and among the people" and that this issue was one of Rouhani's promises in the previous election. He expressed hope that this issue would be resolved "in a good and friendly atmosphere." Aref also stated on Saturday that Rouhani has not forgotten the promise to lift the house arrest and that this issue is a concern for many well-wishers. The Tehran representative in Parliament also referred to the "complex conditions of the country" and expressed hope that this issue would be resolved "through logical mechanisms." Figures such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri have expressed that lifting the house arrest of Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi is beyond the government's authority and is in the hands of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Nevertheless, Ayatollah Khamenei recently stated that he remains sensitive to the protests of 2009, seven years after they occurred. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, stated on Saturday that he has recently sent a message to Mir Hossein Mousavi indicating that if he is freed, he will not engage in political activities for years, but Mousavi did not accept this proposal. In this context, Bahonar considered the continuation of house arrest as the "best situation" for the leaders of the Green Movement.