The Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope has written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, urging him to make every effort to encourage the release of the two Iranian opposition leaders and their wives, who have been held incommunicado by Islamic Republic security forces since February 14.
The Coordination Council, which has spoken for the opposition ever since MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karroubi were put under house arrest, writes that the Iranian government has “violated the Iranian constitution and civil law as well as the international provisions of Human Rights” by its repression of peaceful protesters and the incarceration of thousands of political activists, journalists, students, teachers and workers.
The letter also notes that in the past year and a half of government crackdown on the opposition, four protesters died under torture while “at least 80 were murdered during peaceful street demonstrations.”
The letter adds that Mousavi and Karroubi and their wives were placed under house arrest since they called for protests to show solidarity with the Arab uprisings.
“The family and relatives of these prominent national figures and the public have no idea where they are now being held; nor are they apprised of their prominent relative’s health or even how they’re being fed,” the letter adds; “And all this has happened while Mr. Karrubi and Mr. Mousavi have not been tried or convicted in a court of law.”
The Coordination Council concludes the letter requesting “that the United Nations and its Human Rights organizations use their good offices in accordance with the United Nations declarations and the documents pertaining to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to end the flagrant violation of the rights of these national leaders and free them without delay.
Since February 14 protests, the Iranian judiciary and the head of Iran’s Guardian Council have announced that the opposition leaders will be prevented from issuing any announcements.
The children of Mousavi and Karroubi say they have been blocked in every attempt to visit their parents at their homes. But Iran’s foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi told foreign media that the opposition leaders are under no restrictions and are free to receive visits from their children.
Last week opposition websites announced that the opposition leaders were no longer in their homes and had been transferred to a prison under the control of the Revolutionary Guards. The government has denied the allegations and insists that the opposition leaders are still in their own homes but thier denials has been verbal and no attempt has been made to make the situation of the opposition leaders clear beyond a doubt.
Last week, Al-Arabiah published a report quoting an anonymous knowledgeable source saying there is disagreement between Iran’s ministry of intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards over the right course of action against the opposition leaders.
