Keeping 2009 candidates Mousavi and Karroubi under house arrest for years without charge or trial
In February 2011 the 2009 presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, along with Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard, were confined to their homes without charge after calling for a rally. Officials later said Khamenei had approved the detention, and reports said he opposed lifting it. Karroubi was freed in 2025 after 14 years.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Placed under house arrest after calling a rally in support of Egypt and Tunisia - The Guardian and BBC News reported that after Mousavi and Karroubi sought a permit for a 14 February rally in solidarity with the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the authorities refused it, confined both men to their homes and detained about a dozen of their key advisers. Iran opposition: Will Arab uprisings spread?
- Deputy speaker reveals Khamenei sanctioned the detention - BBC News reported on the first anniversary that deputy parliament speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar had revealed the previous month that Khamenei had sanctioned the detention of Mousavi and Karroubi. IranWire reported that the house arrest rested on a Supreme National Security Council directive backed by the Leader. Iran's opposition struggles without detained leaders
- A decade of detention without charge or trial - Iran International reported that on the tenth anniversary Amnesty International said the three remained deprived of liberty without charge or trial and were held with Khamenei's approval. It added that national police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam had said in 2012 that the house arrest order came from Khamenei. Iran Green Movement Leaders Mark Ten Years Under House Arrest
- Karroubi's house arrest ends after 14 years - Reuters and BBC Persian reported that Mehdi Karroubi's son said his father's house arrest was being lifted after 14 years and that security forces left his home. Middle East Eye reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) had negotiated his release. Mousavi and Rahnavard remained confined. Iran's president negotiates release of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi