Conservative MP Ali Motahari told an official session of Iranian Parliament that the country must release political prisoners and find “final closure” in the case of MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two opposition leaders who have been under house arrest since 2011.
ISNA reports that in a parliamentary presentation on Sunday July 28, Motahari said that some political prisoners are in jail for expressing critical views of the government, and the head of the judiciary needs to release these people without bowing to the demands of security officials.
Motahari dismissed demands for apologies from Mousavi and Karroubi, saying that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be held equally responsible for triggering the upheavals that followed the 2009 election, and the two opposition leaders should at least be given a chance to defend themselves.
Ali Motahari also called on Parliament to collaborate with the new government and refrain from interfering in the new president’s choices for his cabinet.
Hassan Rohani will take over from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on August 3 and will then go on to introduce his cabinet to Parliament. Parliament must approve the appointments before the ministers can assume their executive posts.
