TEHRAN, IRAN— In an interview with the Italian newspaper, il Manifesto,Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that the opposition leaders Mousavi and Karroubi are not under house arrest. Boroujerdi maintained that the two are “under escort” because” they… have committed certain illegal acts such as organizing protests without a permit, and for this they may become subject to prosecution."
Boroujerdi said, "The judiciary and the legislative branches of the government are independent. Decisions regarding prosecution and sentencing are the responsibility of the judicial system. However, the lawmakers have expressed their opinion”, referring to the recent chants by conservative Iranian MPs calling for death sentences for both Mousavi and Karroubi.
In a separate move, Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami explicitly called for the release of opposition leaders. He urged the government not to weaken the revolution by holding the two opposition figures under continued house arrest.
Khatami told the audience “Why should people like Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi, and their wives, who have had a glorious past in the revolution and the Islamic republic, and who are loyal to the revolution and the Islamic republic, be placed under house arrest?",according to his website Khatami.ir.
He further added “"I hope that with the start of the Iranian New Year we will see the end of the house arrest, the end of restrictions, the release of the prisoners and the creation of a safe and free climate”, Khatami told a group of academicians and clerics.
Khatami became an outspoken critic of the ruling establishment after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which the opposition maintains was secured through election fraud.
Since calling for additional public protests, the Iranian government has intensified its pressure on the leaders of the opposition movement. Witnesses in Iran report that iron bars have been placed in front of Mousavi’s residence, restricting access to the house.
Mehdi Karroubi, another leader of the Green Movement, is also reportedly under house arrest. Karroubi’s home is guarded around the clock by Iranian security agents. Recently, some in Iran have speculated that Karroubi and his family may have been relocated by the government. There are reports that guards normally posted around Karroubi’s building have left and it does not appear that anyone is residing in Karroubi’s apartment.
Meanwhile during the Friday’s mass prayer in Tehran, the prayer leader,Ayatollah Emami Kashani, told the attendees that those who are against the Iranian revolution will be destroyed.
According to friends and families of Mousavi and Karroubi, the whereabouts of the two men are not known.