Concern for Iranian Opposition Leaders Who Were Under House Arrest

Human rights organizations are expressing concern over the wellbeing of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, two of the main opposition figures in Iran. Both men, along with their wives, appear to have been removed from their homes where they had been under house arrest and under the watch of security personnel. The New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement on Sunday that its source indicated that Mousavi and Karroubi were taken to a “safe house” near Tehran, a term that often indicates a venue under control of the Revolutionary Guard where prisoners are routinely brutally interrogated to force confessions. The Associated Press quotes a spokesman for the group as explaining that, “Given the lynch mob-like calls for their execution by numerous Iranian politicians and clerics, there is reason to be deeply concerned for their safety and well being.”