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(September 13, 2013) The newly appointed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, should immediately review the situation of the opposition leaders under house arrest and prepare for their release, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.<\/p>\n
Secretary Ali Shamkhani should address the issue of releasing Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi as a top priority on the Council\u2019s agenda, the Campaign added.
\nOn September 10, 2013, Ali Shamkhani assumed the position of Secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council under Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. Previously, Shamkhani served as Minister of Defense during the presidency of the reformist Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.
\n\u201cThe ongoing house arrest of these opposition leaders is illegal and inhumane, and the Council is well-positioned to put an end to this extrajudicial detention,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Campaign. \u201cThe government of Hassan Rouhani, who claims to respect the rights of the people, should not tolerate the gross human rights violations exercised during Ahmadinejad\u2019s administration,\u201d Ghaemi added.
\nOver the past two years, several high-level Iranian officials have placed the responsibility for the detained opposition leaders with the Supreme National Security Council, which determines defense and national security policies for the country, though the ultimate responsibility lies with the Supreme Leader.
\nMehdi Karroubi\u2019s son Mohammad Taghi Karroubi announced on his Facebook page on September 10 that Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader has recently agreed to refer the opposition leaders\u2019 case to the management of the Supreme National Security Council, with its new secretary. This referral could signal an important development in the house arrest case, with the Supreme Leader distancing himself from the consequences of illegally detaining political figures for years without charges.
\n\u201cI think, considering the management and the new members of the Supreme Security Council . . . the best place to taking action to lift the house arrests and the imprisonments is the Supreme Security Council,\u201d Former Minister of the Interior Abdollah Nouri said during a visit with Mir Hossein Mousavi\u2019s daughters on July 11, 2013.
\nAt a May 6, 2013, speech for Tehran\u2019s Sharif University students, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, \u201cWhat happened with Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi was based on a resolution by the Supreme Security Council, which is a legal resolution.\u201d Earlier, in October 2012, Member of Parliament Ali Motahari told Negah-e Panjshanbeh Weekly that then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was responsible for the house arrests by virtue of his position as Head of the Supreme National Security Council.
\nWhile under house arrest, both Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have suffered failing health, necessitating several transfers to the hospital and the Tehran Heart Center in July 2013. Security forces have prevented them from remaining hospitalized, instead returning them to house arrest after medical testing. Mousavi, Karroubi, and Mousavi\u2019s wife Zahra Rahnavard have been illegally detained under house arrest since February 2011, in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election in which Karroubi and Mousavi were candidates. No charges have been brought against them.
\nRegarding his father\u2019s health, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi told the Campaign, \u201cAfter the angiogram at the Tehran Heart Hospital last month, his cardiac conditions have improved. He is currently under treatment for a slipped disc problem at his house arrest location. Security conditions led the security officials to continue his treatment at the Intelligence Ministry safe house where he is detained.\u201d Mohammad Taghi Karroubi saw his father during family visitation on September 11. \u201cThe treatment by [security] forces is a lot better than before, and they are better at facilitating the visits,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe Council should not only end the house arrest of the opposition leaders, but also facilitate the release of all political prisoners who have similarly been arrested unlawfully, charged baselessly, and imprisoned for years,\u201d Ghaemi said. \u201cContrary to the Iranian Judiciary\u2019s claims of independence, the politically motivated charges against these prisoners prove otherwise, and necessitate the intervention of the Supreme National Security Council.\u201d
\nListen to the Campaign\u2019s Iran Rights Podcast\u2028\u2028For the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign\u2019s website
\nFor interviews, contact Hadi Ghaemi at +1-917-669-5996<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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