Member of Parliament: We Will Hear Good News About the House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders Before the New Year

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that "with tireless efforts" from Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, "good news" regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement will be published before the New Year. Mr. Sadeghi made these remarks on Tuesday, February 14, during a speech at Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi University. The Tehran representative did not provide further details about the "good news" he referred to, but emphasized on his Twitter page that "the house arrest of individuals without a court ruling is against the law," referencing Article 36 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution. These comments from Mahmoud Sadeghi come amid contradictory statements from Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, who claimed that "house arrest is a national decision and many competent authorities have been involved in this decision." Dolatabadi added that "therefore, some individuals cannot claim that they do not accept the house arrest, and such statements are unfounded; because this issue pertains to national and major interests of the country." The reformist newspaper "Shargh" also reported in its February 14 issue that "what has recently been raised regarding the lifting of house arrest is merely media speculation." The website "Kalemeh," which publishes news related to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, reported on February 13 that "not the slightest change has occurred in the status of house arrest; as before, all communications are cut off, and phone contact throughout the week is not possible even with family; visits with family occur once a week at a very limited hour near Akhtar Prison in the presence of security agents, and other conditions remain the same as before." Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were two candidates who contested the results of the 2009 presidential election and led the protest movement following that election. They have been under house arrest since February 2011 without a trial. The wives of Mr. Karroubi and Mousavi were also under house arrest with them, although Fatemeh Karroubi was released after a while. Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, remains under house arrest with him.