One resident said there were so many police patrolling Tehran that the city resembled a military base.
Musavi and Karrubi, the leaders of the Green opposition movement, had been under house detention. But last week, their homes went dark and the police guards surrounding their residences disappeared, leading to reports they had been taken away to prison.
The prosecutor general, Gholam-Hossain Mohseni-Ejai, personally denied the men—and their wives—had been taken away. But he did not explain why the police guards had been removed from their homes and why no one could contact them, including their children.
The opposition Kaleme website said the two men, along with their wives, were “arrested and taken to Heshmatiyeh prison.” Most others said it was unknown where they had been taken..
Sahamnews.org said Karrubi and his wife were taken from their home last Thursday night about midnight. One of Karrubi’s children, who was not named by the website, said, “We have spoken with a neighbor who witnessed our father and mother being taken out of their house.” He said the neighbor reported that eight security vans arrived and “a few minutes later they all left.”
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said it had spoken with a neighbor of the Karrubis who said, “I am certain that they are no longer inside their home. All the windows are broken and nobody is home.”
The neighbor said the area, the North Dibaji neighborhood, is normally crawling with police because there are many embassies and high-ranking government officials located there. “Last night and today, Karrubi’s home was extremely quiet and, unlike previous days, no [security] forces were in sight.”
The Green Voice of Freedom website quoted an open letter from the Musavis’ daughters saying the lights in their parents’ home had not been on for three consecutive nights. An iron gate was installed across the alley leading to the house last month so no one can get to it.
They “have become hostages in the hands of the Iranian government,” Ardeshir Amir-Arjomand, one of Musavi’s aides, said in a telephone interview with the Bloomberg news service. “It is surprising that two prominent political figures have disappeared and no government official takes responsibility.”
Tehran residents reported pockets of protests and clashes with security forces Tuesday on the streets of the capital. Tear gas was seen. But a huge police presence appeared to be key and tended to cap any resistance. The authorities had used a similar massive presence February 20 to effectively squash a planned protest that day.
Like then, on Tuesday the protesters appeared to be heavily out-muscled by police.
Kaleme reported that security forces fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters in front of Tehran University. It described the surrounding streets as being very congested.
Witnesses reported more clashes along Azadi Avenue, where protesters were chanting, “Death to the dictator,” and “Khamenehi is a murderer. His authority is over.”
But the BBC’s Mohsen Asgari reported that at dusk the security forces appeared to be in full control of the streets, although some protesters tried random demonstrations under cover of darkness
Iran’s detention of the two opposition leaders and their wives, both of whom are also politically active, drew a rebuke from White House press secretary Jay Carney, who called the detentions “unacceptable.” Carney told reporters, “We call on them to be treated well and released.”
Iranian news outlets repeatedly said reports about Musavi and Karrubi being arrested were false.
Amir-Arjomand said conflicting reports about the status and location of the opposition leaders is an attempt to confuse and demoralize the opposition.
“For two weeks now, no one has been able to see Musavi and Karrubi,” Amir-Arjomand said. “They have been unable to even meet family members.” The two men were last seen and spokem to on February 14.
The Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, a group that backs Musavi and Karrubi, asked followers to march toward Tehran’s Azadi square from 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to statements posted on the kaleme.com and saham-news.org websites.
The opposition has also called for demonstrations every Tuesday until the two couples are released.
Meanwhile, there were reports of professional actions being taken against the two men. News reports spoke of the Special Clerical Court taking up the issue of defrocking Karrubi, who is a cleric. And the Fars news agency reported that the chancellor of Tarbiat Modarres University, where Musavi is a lecturer, had suspended Musavi.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday criticized Iran for pursuing “policies of violence abroad and tyranny at home.”
“Why do people have the right to live free from fear in Tripoli but not in Tehran?” Clinton said. “The denial of human dignity in Iran is an outrage that deserves the condemnation of all who speak out for freedom and justice.”
Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi was queried on that point while visiting Geneva Tuesday. He said, “There is absolutely no comparison between what is happening in the countries of the region and what has happened in Iran in a few incidents.”
He called the disturbances in Iran “manipulated protests” while the disturbances in other countries are “authentic, popular and peoples’ movements.”
In an interview last week, Prosecutor General Mohseni-Ejai told the daily Jomhuri Eslami, “A large number of those who had been arrested during the events of 25 Bahman [the protests of February 14] have been released, but the guilty individuals are still in detention.” He gave no numbers on the total arrested that day or the numbers still detained.