Zahra Rahnavard's Reaction to a Rumor: My House Arrest Lifting is Meaningless Without Mir Hossein Mousavi

Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the leaders of Iran's Green Movement, reacted to rumors about her release from house arrest by stating that her freedom without Mr. Mousavi is 'meaningless.' The Khabar Online website reported on Wednesday, January 24, that Rahnavard has only been able to spend a few hours at the bedside of her dying mother during this time, and there has been no lifting of her house arrest. Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi, following widespread protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, which is referred to as the 'Green Movement of Iran,' became targets of the anger of the Islamic Republic leadership and its affiliates. These two figures, along with Mehdi Karroubi, who led this movement, have been under house arrest since February 2011, unable to be present even at the funerals of their loved ones. However, recently, Elias Hazrati, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that he had heard from reliable sources that Zahra Rahnavard was outside of house arrest due to her mother's illness. Rahnavard labeled these statements as 'rumor-mongering' and expressed her confusion about the motives behind it. She stated, 'Five years ago, after a long period of being unaware of my family, I was only shown my father's lifeless body in the hospital morgue for a few minutes. Seven years ago, they showed me Mir Hossein's father's corpse.' She added, 'These days, I have been able to spend a few hours or sometimes minutes at the bedside of my sick and 94-year-old mother, although I cannot forget many Iranians who, for the same reasons, are deprived of seeing their families and loved ones inside and outside the country.' The Khabar Online website reports that Rahnavard's visits with her mother have been solitary, with agents not allowing other family members to be present. Meanwhile, some government-supporting representatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly have stated that the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders is set to be gradually lifted. During this time, Mehdi Karroubi has also had a few limited visits with some individuals at home, but reports indicate that even this slight easing has not occurred for Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard. Zahra Rahnavard has emphasized that, like the past seven years, she has no demands other than the freedom of political prisoners, especially the freedom of imprisoned women.