Iran's Deputy Speaker of Parliament: Resolving House Arrest is Not That Simple

The Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly stated that lifting the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protests is 'not that simple,' noting that no investigation in Iran has 'reached a conclusion' so far, and most dismissals occur within the judiciary. According to a report on Tuesday, December 5, by ILNA news agency, Masoud Pezeshkian made these remarks during a ceremony commemorating Student Day (December 7) at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. Pezeshkian identified the lifting of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard as one of the 'concerns' of the Parliament, adding, 'But we cannot do anything specific in Parliament; however, we are following up to resolve this issue.' He further stated, 'Resolving this matter is not easy. It is easy to talk when you are outside of the work.' Hassan Rouhani emphasized efforts to lift the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protests during the 11th and 12th presidential election campaigns, but has yet to take action. Recently, several family members of Mir Hossein Mousavi met with him and also with Mojtaba Zolnour, a conservative member of Parliament, and Ismail Doosti, a member of the National Trust Party, who visited Karroubi. Ali Motahari, another Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also stated on Tuesday that the 'will' of the country's officials is to resolve the house arrest issue and that currently there is a 'softening' in this regard. Since February 2011, Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard have been under house arrest without trial, and their requests for public court appearances have not been accepted so far. According to ILNA, Pezeshkian emphasized the importance of remaining 'revolutionary,' stating, 'Many students before and during the revolution said that if we had power, we would do this and that, but now we are all caught up in money, positions, and ranks.' He also commented on criticisms of the judiciary, saying, 'The judiciary is not in our hands; even the judiciary admits its mistakes. The most dismissals occur in the judiciary.' He noted that 'even in terms of oversight [over the judiciary], our hands are not very open,' adding that 'many investigations have been conducted from the beginning until now, but not a single investigation has reached a conclusion.' In addition to recent critical remarks by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against the judiciary following the summons of three senior managers from his presidency to court, criticisms in Iran regarding the judiciary's performance due to court proceedings, prison conditions, pressure on prisoners, and deprivation of many of their basic rights have always been raised. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the Deputy Speaker of the Sixth Parliament, also criticized the disproportionate treatment of students in Iran, stating that students should be 'independent' from the government and any other institution. Speaking at Tehran University on the occasion of Student Day, Khatami said, 'As long as students are labeled as anti-revolutionaries and similar issues, the university will not be dynamic... Universities cannot be limited in the name of blackening due to entering various issues.' He raised the question, 'Have you ever seen a university president embezzle? Have you ever seen them be a spy?' without naming any specific individual or institution, asking, 'Why don't you trust universities?' This reformist political activist lamented the critics of Western humanities in universities, adding, 'If that is the case, close the university and hand over the affairs to the seminaries.' Khatami further criticized President Rouhani, stating, 'Mr. President, we know your limitations... but what about the star-studded students? Isn't it your Ministry of Intelligence that stars students?' He described the star-studded labeling of students in universities as 'illegal and contrary to the apparent statements of the Minister of Intelligence,' adding that he expects the President to 'act more strongly in these matters.' Ali Shakouri Rad, Secretary-General of the Union of Iranian Nation Party, also criticized the continued star-studded labeling of students in universities under Rouhani's government at Shahid Beheshti University. This reformist activist said, 'Rouhani is not my preferred candidate, but our expectations should be based on realities.' Addressing the students, he said, 'You say 200 people were star-studded this year. We also have objections... Several other members of the Union Party were also star-studded, but we should not deny our achievements because of one issue.' Criticisms of the continued star-studded labeling of students during Rouhani's government were raised at this event while the newspaper 'Jameh-Farda' reported that at least 150 master's and doctoral students were star-studded in October of this year. According to this newspaper, these students faced 'file deficiencies' and were deprived of entering universities. In a report published on Thursday, December 9, quoting 'an informed source' in the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, it was stated, 'In the new academic year, between 150 to 200 students at the master's and doctoral levels were denied registration after passing the exam due to file deficiencies and are considered star-studded.' The term 'star-studded student' was used since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency for those student activists who had a star next to their names in the records provided by the Assessment Organization, leading to deprivations, including deprivation of education. The Human Rights Commission of the Office of Strengthening Unity, in collaboration with the Student News website and the Campaign for the Right to Education, announced in a joint report in 2013 that over a thousand students in Iran were deprived of education during Ahmadinejad's eight years in office. This is while Hassan Rouhani, during his campaign for the 2013 presidential election, promised to eliminate the star system for students, restore them, and open up the university environment.