May 30, 2017

On May 29, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran’s judiciary, railed against moderate president Hassan Rouhani for his campaign promise to free the leaders of the Green Movement.

After the 2009 presidential vote, which led to the re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Reformist candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi objected to the results, saying the vote was rigged. After continuous protests across Iran, the opposition leaders were put under house arrest in 2011.

“It has been cited that a [presidential] candidate addressed his supporters, saying he has come to lift the house arrests. Who are you to lift the house arrests?” asked the head of the judiciary, referring to Rouhani.

Larijani added, “We are warning the media and those who are reiterating such issues in concert, imposing pressure, to stop this lest the judiciary itself step in to put a firm halt to this.”

He said, “Suppose that the Supreme National Security Council repeals its own decision and lifts the house arrests [of Mousavi and Karroubi]. In this case, the judiciary’s duty to pursue this matter will begin.” What Larijani hinted at was that following the possible release of the opposition leaders, they would be put on trial. It should be noted that some conservatives have said execution is one possible verdict of such a trial.