Karroubi's letter draws fire from Islamic Republic hardliners

Mehdi Karroubi

Iranian hardliners called for the prosecution of opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, for his recent letter to Chairman of the Assembly of Experts demanding a re-evaluation of Iran’s Supreme Leader’s eligibility for his role.

IRNA reports that a number of Iranian Members of Parliament announced that the recent letter of Mehdi Karroubi to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani goes to show that the tolerant policy of the judiciary with regard to the “leaders of sedition” have made them “bolder” and warned that “it is not advisable to show more tolerance” with them.

The Islamic Republic establishment refers to Mehdi Karroubi and MirHosein Mousavi, the candidates of the 2009 presidential elections who have disputed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the elections on the grounds of vote fraud, as “leaders of sedition” and accuses them of trying to topple the government.

The opposition however denies these accusations and maintains that its demands are fully contained in the framework of the Islamic Republic law and constitution.

In a recent letter to the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts which closed session last week, Mehdi Karroubi criticized the Assembly’s failure to face up to its duty of supervising the supreme leader, which he claimed is responsible for the loss of the judiciary’s independence, the widespread interference of military forces in the country’s economic and political affairs as well as for the blatant abuse of public rights by institutions directly under the supervision of the supreme leader.

The hardline MPs condemn what they refer to as “impertinence" of Karroubi’s letter and describe him as a “tool in the hands of US and British intelligence forces.”

The lawmakers rebuke the judiciary for failing to confront the opposition leader saying: “The failure of the judiciary to prosecute them has led these seditious elements to think that they are in the right and the regime does not dare confront them.”

They also question the silence of the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani in the matter, and ask why he has not distanced himself from the opposition.

Pro-government figures have called for the prosecution of Mehdi Karroubi and MirHosein Mousavi on several occasions in the past year but the judiciary has so far announced that the arrest of these figures is not in the “greater interest of the regime” for now.

However restrictions against the two opposition leaders have been intensified in recent weeks and even Tehran’s prosecutor announced last week that the two leaders should expect to be brought to trial soon.