Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Dastgheib has called on President Hassan Rohani to take a firm stance on the issue of political prisoners and make efforts release opposition leaders Mousavi and Karroubi from house arrest.
Ayatollah Dastgheib, who has been a persistent critic of how the government has treated political prisoners in recent years, addressed the president, saying: “The people have voted for you and came to the ballot boxes chanting: Ya Hosein! MirHosein! which means we are voting for you because of him, but unfortunately you say nothing.”
Dastgheib, who was speaking at a gathering of reformists in Shiraz, said the vote for Rohani was made on the condition that he would try to release Mousavi and Karroubi and other political prisoners.
Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard have been under house arrest since February of 2011, as has Mehdi Karroubi. Last week, during a visit with their parents, Mousavi’s daughters were reportedly assaulted by one of the guards on duty.
Ayatollah Dastgheib criticized the president for failing to denounce the treatment of Mousavi’s daughters.
