Ayatollah Dashtgheib's Advice to Reformists to Demand Lifting of House Arrest

Ali Mohammad Dashtgheib, a cleric residing in Shiraz, advised Iranian reformists to demand from President Hassan Rouhani and other clerics the lifting of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard. According to the Kaleme website, Ayatollah Dashtgheib, in a recent meeting with reformists from Fars province, addressed Hassan Rouhani saying, "Why should these esteemed individuals be under house arrest when you promised and the people expected you to defend them more? At least you could have made some visits." He added, "It is not too late, and in the remaining two or three months, actions can be taken. This is in accordance with the Constitution, and everyone expects more from someone who wants to become president." Mr. Dashtgheib suggested that reformists send a letter to Hassan Rouhani demanding the lifting of the house arrest and also send representatives to the clerics to ask them to follow up on this issue. The house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 presidential election protests continues despite Hassan Rouhani's promise during his 2013 election campaign to resolve the issue. Rouhani had stated, "I believe that the future president should seek to reduce distances and eliminate the security atmosphere in the country so that not only those under house arrest are freed, but also those imprisoned due to the events of 2009." Some government officials and political figures, including Ali Younesi, the president's assistant for ethnic and minority affairs, have previously stated that the government has no authority in this matter. Meanwhile, Mehdi Karroubi, in a letter to the president published on April 10, emphasized that he does not consider the lifting of his house arrest to be within the president's control and requested that Hassan Rouhani ask the "tyrannical regime" to put him on trial in a "public court." Hussein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, reported on August 16 that Hassan Rouhani had discussed the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders with the Supreme Leader in several meetings, but "due to the distractions from his entourage, he was unable to continue the discussions." He also deemed the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders before the 2017 presidential elections as "unlikely," stating that the regime would not grant this "privilege" to Hassan Rouhani. The children of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have previously criticized Hassan Rouhani's government for its "indifference" to lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders. Recently, thousands, including a number of political, social, and civil activists in Iran, called for an end to their house arrest in an open letter addressed to the heads of the three branches of government, members of parliament, and other officials, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of their house arrest. Previously, some political groups, including the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, the Islamic Medical Society, and several Islamic student associations, had also called for their house arrest to be lifted. Meanwhile, the Islamic Teachers Association of Iran also called for the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders in a statement at its fifth congress on March 10. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Mehdi Karroubi, after three years of "detention" in a "safe house" of the Ministry of Intelligence, was transferred to his home in Jamaran in February 2014 but remains under house arrest. Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, in a letter to the Minister of Intelligence, protested the ministry's "deliberate irresponsibility" regarding her husband's life, stating that security agents are not allowed to contact emergency services during any incident involving Mr. Karroubi and must only contact the Ministry of Intelligence hospital. In this letter, published on the Kaleme website on March 9, she also reported that the Ministry of Intelligence forces "still remain in our residential home contrary to the term house arrest, and even the most basic household matters are under their control." A day after this letter, Mohammad Taqi Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, stated in an interview with the Iran Human Rights Campaign website that the Ministry of Intelligence agents are "stationed" on the first floor of Mr. Karroubi's house while his parents live on the second floor. According to Mohammad Taqi Karroubi, "Even simple purchases of household items must be controlled by the agents. In fact, they must approve it and then send it upstairs." He added, "Agents can monitor from outside the house, for example, from a kiosk, but they have been controlling all personal affairs inside the house for six years; this is no longer called house arrest; it is something else that I cannot define." Mehdi Karroubi was transferred to the hospital for a heart examination on March 6 and returned home after the examination. Hussein Karroubi stated that his father's doctor had reported during the last examination that "his heart rate is irregular and out of the normal range," which is why he was transferred to the hospital. Mehdi Karroubi underwent surgery for a broken leg on December 8, 2015, and following this operation, Hussein Fereydoun, the president's brother, visited him and conveyed Hassan Rouhani's "greetings" to him. This was Mehdi Karroubi's sixth surgery since the beginning of his house arrest, and prior to this, he had undergone surgeries for a herniated disc, knee, urinary tract, eye, and heart. Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, announced on March 29 that he is obligated to monitor the health of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi to ensure necessary actions are taken.