February 19, 2016
The United States has called on Iran to free dissidents Mehdi Karrubi, Mir-Hossain Musavi and Musavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard. The call was issued Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of their being confined to house arrest for their protests over the 2009 elections. Iran’s Foreign Ministry immediately accused the United States of interfering in an internal Iranian issue. “This is an internal matter, going through its own legal channels. It has nothing to do with outsiders,” said ministry spokesman Hossain Jaberi-Ansari. But Jaberi-Ansari had no criticism for Iranian officials who regularly assail the US justice system and demand the release of black Americans and others. The US State Department said, “The United States will continue to urge the Iranian government to respect its international obligations, including minimum fair trial guarantees and not subjecting its citizens to arbitrary arrest or detention.”
