Iran News Site Reports Partial Lift of House Arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi

Report Is Questionable

Mashreghnews, citing Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, is reporting the house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi is partially lifted. The hardline news site also cites people close to Karroubi as saying that he is not under house arrest anymore and only a team of “body guards” protects him. Mashreghnews report is not yet verified by other sources. (Mashreghnews, 19 January)

UPDATE: Golnaz Esfandiari, editor of Iran blog Persian Letters, twitted that a journalist close to opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi says that Mashreghnews report on lifting the house arrest of Karroubi and Mousavi is “a lie.” Esfandiari adds that the hardline websites have made similar false claims in the past.

File photo: Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi (left) and Mehdi Karroubi

Opposition Leaders Banned from Running in Upcoming Election

Iran’s Prosecutor Qolam Hossein Mohseni Ejei said today that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the Green Movement leaders, are not “competent” to run as candidates in the presidential election in June. Ejehei accused the opposition leaders of committing “atrocities against the ruling system and the nation.” (Fars News Agency, 17 January)

Mousavi and Karoubi were candidates in the 2009 presidential election. Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the election. Opposition supporters claimed monumental vote fraud and massive street protests, largest in the history of the Islamic Republic, ensued. The opposition leaders demanded a recall. But the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed the request and declared Ahmadinejad’s victory as valid. Mousavi and Karoubi has been under house arrest since.

File photos: Mir Hossein Mousavi (left) and Mehdi Karroubi (AFP/Getty Images)

Opposition Leaders Hospitalized

Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were hospitalized for several hours and underwent medical tests on Monday. (Shamnews/Radio Farda, 20 November)

Mousavi, a former prime minister and the leader of 2009 Green Movement, who’s since been under house arrest, has reportedly suffered in recent weeks from chest pains and extreme fluctuation of his blood pressure. In August, Mousavi underwent an angiography. Karroubi, also a leading figure of the Green Movement and also under house arrest, has recently lost a substantial amount of weight and suffers from loss of appetite, nausea, and dizziness. Last year, he suffered from respiratory complications.

Family members and aides believe that the health of the men has deteriorated as the result of their detention.

Karroubi Under Siege

Above: Hojjat ol-Eslam Mehdi Karroubi

Below: Karroubi's residence. Anti-Karrubi graffiti written on the walls

A large group of Basijis has gathered outside the house of one of Iran's opposition leaders, Hojjat ol-Eslam Mehdi Karroubi, in Tehran, preventing him from leaving his residence to participate in today’s Quds Day marches. The government is concerned that Karroubi’s presence on the streets of Tehran might incite anti-government and pro-Green demonstrations in Tehran.

Top photo: File photo, Press TV

Bottom photo: AP