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Green Movement Leader's Health 'Not Good'


Former presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi waves to media as he leaves a press conference in Tehran, May 29, 2009
Former presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi waves to media as he leaves a press conference in Tehran, May 29, 2009

Mir Hossein Mousavi, 75, the most prominent figure in Iran’s Green Movement, is suffering from “strong dizziness” and “severe blood pressure fluctuations”, the pro Green Movement website; “Kaleme” has cited her daughters as saying.

Two days earlier, another prominent figure of the movement, Mehdi Karroubi, 79, who is also under house arrest, was transferred to hospital.

Mousavi’s daughters who met him on Tuesday, July 25, reported that their father has long been suffering from dizziness but it has recently been aggravated.

Meanwhile, they said their mother, Zahra Rahnavard confided with them that “In recent weeks, whenever he was walking, I had to be at his side lest his dizziness and severe drop of his blood pressure could lead to a worst situation”.

Mehdi Karubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, undated.
Mehdi Karubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, undated.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard along with Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since February 2011.

Karroubi and Mousavi were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s main challengers in 2009 presidential election. Ahmadinejad was officially declared the winner but the challengers protested the outcome calling it “engineered result”.

Their protest led to more than five months of demonstrations that left several killed and hundreds imprisoned.

Later, the couple along with Mehdi Karroubi, were confined to their houses after they called for street demonstrations in solidarity with “Arab Spring” or pro-democracy movements in Egypt and Tunisia.

Now, considered opposition leaders, the detainees and specially Mr. Mousavi are regarded as leaders of the Green Movement, which demanded the reversal of the 2009 official election result.

Although it is not yet clear who has exactly ordered the house arrests but many believe that the Supreme Leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei is personally responsible for the decision.

Iran’s Constitution grants wide powers to the supreme leader, but according to Article 30, no one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law.

One of Hassan Rouhani’s main promises in his first campaign for presidency in 2013 was finding a way to end house arrest of Mousavis and Karroubi.

Nevertheless, following his election, as well as his reelection, Rouhani has preferred to avoid directly bringing up the issue.

International and local demands for ending the house arrests have fallen on deaf ears so far.

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