Iranian opposition leader turns down inactivity proposal

By  Trend

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has turned down a proposal to stay politically inactive if released from house arrest, said Mohammad Reza Bahonar, secretary general of the Followers of the Line of Imam and Leadership and a long-term ex-parliamentarian.

“The best situation to be continued now is house arrest. If a court wants to try these men officially and according to the country’s law, their verdicts will be heavy… maybe harmful to reformists and these men themselves,” Bahonar told ILNA news agency Aug. 13.

“You cannot find a person acting against a state and remain free… Sometimes they say we want to live our lives and not bother. But there are some who want to get out and start a campaign. It is clear that in such cases the state will not allow them to do that,” the former MP further stated.

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran for the second term in 2009, Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi protested the decision, which later resulted in massive protests across Iran, particularly in Tehran. Many people were arrested. The two have been under house arrest since 2011.