Tehran’s prosecutor denied once again today that Iranian opposition leaders are under arrest, adding that the opposition movement in Iran has been defeated.
Iranian media report that Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi told reporters that all news regarding the arrest of MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives is completely unfounded, saying: “The prosecutor’s office confirms that these gentlemen are in their homes, and the recently published news has been false.”
The Iranian opposition leaders have been put under house arrest since they rallied their supporters to march on February 14 in solidarity with the recent Arab uprisings.
The two couples have been completely cut off from the outside world and are even denied visits from their children. Last week saw opposition websites publishing speculation that they had been transferred to a Revolutionary Guards prison.
Yesterday, however, Kaleme website, a news source close to Mousavi, said it has confirmed that Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard are in their home under house arrest.
However, the Karroubi children are still in the dark about their parents’ situation, according to Saham news, the website connected to Karroubi.
Dowlatabadi told reporters that the February 14 protests were a reaction to the February 11 pro-government demonstrations. February 11 is the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, and marches are customarily staged on that date.
The Tehran prosecutor insisted that the February 14 demonstrations were “anti-revolutionary” and contrary to the rule of Velayat Faqih (supreme leadership), given that they were held on the heels of the official government marches.
Iranian authorities insist the protest movement against the allegedly rigged elections that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power is seditious and aimed at toppling the system.
Authorities have played down recent street protests, even as the opposition leaders were put under house arrest and heavy security has been regularly deployed to quash further protests.
Dowlatabadi maintained that the so-called seditious movement has now entered a new stage of “street riots, taking to the streets, weakening the system and creating human rights liabilities for the Islamic Republic.”
The prosecutor warned people against attending any protest rallies and emphasized that “now everything is clear. Anyone who participates in anti-revolutionary demonstrations will be convicted and sentenced by the judiciary.”
