Mehdi Karroubi Returned to House Arrest from Hospital

Hossein Karroubi, the son of Mehdi Karroubi, one of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, announced that his father was returned to his house arrest after undergoing surgery and having a battery placed in his heart on Thursday, August 10. He stated in an interview with the 'Jamaran' website that his father's heart rate has 'returned to normal, but it has been decided that regular check-ups will be conducted from now on.' Mehdi Karroubi was recently transferred to the hospital due to a heart condition, and his son, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, announced on August 6 that after two angiographies due to his low heart rate, a battery was implanted in his heart. In recent days, several members of parliament, city council members, political activists, and student activists visited the hospital to see Mr. Karroubi, but security agents did not allow them to meet him, and they met with Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife. Meanwhile, Fatemeh Karroubi told a group of people who wanted to visit her husband that 'with the arbitrary decisions of security agents, we are witnessing the gradual loss of Mr. Karroubi's health.' According to Mrs. Karroubi, over time, 'there has been no change in Mr. Karroubi's house arrest situation,' and 'the restrictions have increased.' Hassan Rouhani had promised to lift the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results during his 2013 and 2017 presidential campaigns, while the families of Mr. Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi have criticized Rouhani for not fulfilling his promises over the years. In this context, 100 political and civil activists recently issued a statement saying that Hassan Rouhani has not fulfilled his promise to lift the house arrest, and the Ministry of Intelligence continues to 'harass and torment' the leaders of the protests. Mir Hossein Mousavi's daughters also recently announced that during their last visit with their parents, they noticed that their father was suffering from 'severe fluctuations in blood pressure and severe dizziness.' Following the publication of these reports, dozens of political and civil activists, several human rights organizations, several Islamic associations, and several members of parliament called for an end to the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi. Meanwhile, Gholamreza Heydari, a reformist member of parliament, recently announced the formation of a committee in the faction known as the 'Hope Faction' to 'demand the lifting of house arrest,' and Ali Motahari and Masoud Pezeshkian, two vice presidents of parliament, stated that members of this committee have met with Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Previously, some political figures in Iran, including Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri and Ali Motahari, have stated that lifting the house arrest is only possible with an order from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.