House Arrest of Mehdi Karroubi Lifted: Officials Promise Similar Action for Mousavi

According to Iranian media, Hossein Karroubi – the son of Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi – stated: “Yesterday, during a visit with my father, officials informed him that starting today, based on the order of the head of the judiciary, your house arrest is lifted. However, for security and protective reasons, officers will remain at your residence until April 9 (20 Farvardin), after which they will leave.”

He went on to quote his father, saying: “My father noted that, as I previously announced, both I and Mr. Mousavi have been under house arrest for over 14 years for protesting the 2009 election results, and we should be released together. However, now that you’ve decided to end my house arrest, I cannot stop you from leaving. But I advise you to end the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard as soon as possible.”

Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard had been under house arrest since February 2011, following their objection to the 2009 presidential election results and the subsequent suppression of protesters. Earlier this year, as speculation grew that his house arrest might end, 87-year-old Karroubi had stipulated that lifting his house arrest must be accompanied by the freedom of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard.

Hossein Karroubi also mentioned that officials told his father, “The same process that was carried out for you will be implemented for Mr. Mousavi in the coming months, and he too will be released from house arrest.” Recently, Hassan Khomeini, the son of the founder of the Islamic Republic, visited Mehdi Karroubi, and a photo from that meeting was published in the media.

In his first press conference after taking office as president, when the live TV broadcast had ended, Masoud Pezeshkian responded to journalists asking about the status of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi by saying: “Mr. Karroubi’s issue has been resolved, and we are working on the other case… But one must not clash with the system.”

News of Mehdi Karroubi’s release prompted various reactions. Azar Mansouri, head of the Reformist Front, welcomed the development, calling it “good news” and writing on the social media platform X: “The house arrest of Sheikh Mehdi Karroubi has ended. We hope that the house arrest of our other dear ones, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, will also be ended, and that all political prisoners will be freed in 2025 (1404).”

In another response, Ahmad Zeidabadi, a former political prisoner and political activist, said, “Amid the turmoil in the region and unprecedented economic hardship faced by the public, the news of lifting Sheikh Mehdi Karroubi’s house arrest is a welcome and positive development.” He also expressed hope that “with the lifting of the house arrest of Mir Hossein and Mrs. Rahnavard, as well as the release of all political and ideological prisoners, our country’s liberation from the grim phenomenon of political house arrests and prisons will be complete, opening a new path for Iran.”

Officials of the Islamic Republic had repeatedly claimed that the Supreme National Security Council had decided on the house arrests of Ms. Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi, and Mr. Karroubi. In 2017, when Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was still spokesperson for the judiciary, he stated: “The Supreme National Security Council’s decision is legal and binding, and no one has the right to oppose it.” The house arrests had been conducted via fiat with no opportunity for any of the three to challenge any charges or their circumstances. However, Hossein Karroubi says that this time, they were told Mr. Karroubi’s house arrest had been lifted by order of Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the current head of the judiciary, and there has been no mention of the Supreme National Security Council.