Iranian opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard were finally allowed a visit from their daughters on Wednesday March 13, under severe security measures.
The Kaleme opposition website reports that the last time the children were allowed to visit their parents was on November 21, and the long stretch of time without any visits had become a cause for serious concern for the Mousavi daughters.
In Iran, prisoners are allowed visits from family once a week; however, Mousavi and Rahnavard have been under house arrest since February 2011 without any formal charges brought against them.
Mousavi, together with his fellow presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, challenged the outcome of the 2009 presidential election, which became a trigger for widespread mass street protests that were violently crushed by state security forces.
Mousavi’s daughters have also been facing state pressure in the form of arrest and threats and they have been warned against informing the public about their parents’ situation.
The children have challenged the state’s treatment of their parents, likening it to a kidnapping.
Mehdi Karroubi, the other challenger of the 2009 presidential election, is also under house arrest in another location.
Many reformist figures have called for the release of the opposition leaders from house arrest as a positive move in opening up the political arena for the coming presidential election in June.
