Motahari Criticizes Sadegh Larijani: The President Can Act to Change the Decision on House Arrest

Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, criticized the recent statements of Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, in a letter on Thursday, stating that the President, as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, can take action to change the council's decision regarding house arrest. On June 8, Larijani, without naming Hassan Rouhani, described his remarks about lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders as 'against national security' and questioned, 'What authority do you have to break the house arrest?' According to ISNA, Motahari referred to Larijani's statements from Tuesday and said, 'This is not appropriate language to say to the President, who is responsible for enforcing the Constitution... what authority do you have to want to break the house arrest?' The Deputy Speaker added, 'I ask you, as someone who has authority, what actions have you taken to resolve this issue? Is it right to continue the house arrest until they die without a fair court ruling?' Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, had promised during a recent election campaign speech in Kerman that he would 'transfer' and 'pursue with all his strength' the request to lift the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders made by participants in the speech. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, along with Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Previously, some judiciary officials had stated that the decision regarding the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard was made by the Supreme National Security Council in February 2011. Among them, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesperson, said on December 7 last year about the fate of the leaders of the 2009 election protests, 'The National Security Council has approved that these individuals remain under house arrest for now, and this resolution remains in effect.' Regarding the change of the Supreme National Security Council's decision on house arrest, Motahari, in his letter, referred to Larijani's statements about the council's decision for the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, saying, 'The head of this highest security body in the country is the President, and he can take action to change this decision.' He added, 'This body had the right to temporarily impose house arrest for a few months until calm was restored when the country was in turmoil, but the question is whether the Supreme National Security Council could have ruled to continue the punishment after the community calmed down and the danger was lifted, essentially doing the judiciary's job? This too, without any trial or hearing their defenses and addressing the cases of other parties involved in the 2009 sedition?' Larijani had stated on June 8, 'Assuming the Supreme National Security Council cancels its resolution and the house arrest is lifted, only then does the judiciary begin to address this matter.' In response to this statement, Motahari said, 'It is interesting; you are essentially saying that the judiciary will prosecute the accused after seven years of house arrest worse than imprisonment to see what their punishment is. Please do not repeat this statement, as it undermines the Islamic Republic system.' The Deputy Speaker of Parliament has urged the head of the judiciary to take action to lift the continued house arrest, which is becoming 'a problem for the Islamic Republic.' In this context, 'the government's recommendation' to the head of the judiciary: If you have something to say, say it in the National Security Council. The head of the judiciary: What authority do you have to want to break the house arrest? Continued requests from Hassan Rouhani's government to pursue the issue of house arrest. Nobakht: Informing about the negotiations to lift the house arrest does not help solve the problem. Motahari: There is a suitable opportunity to lift the house arrest and the media ban in the twelfth government.