Iran's supreme leader accused of abducting opposition leaders

07 March 2011

Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi not been seen since mid-February

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is accused of being directly involved with the disappearance of the two main opposition leaders.

Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi were both opposition candidates in the 2009 presidential elections. The men have not been seen since being placed under house arrest in mid-February to prevent them from attending further anti-government protests. Both men were then reported to have been moved to Heshmatiyeh jail in Tehran.

However, Karroubi’s official website says that Khamenei had ordered “the abduction of Karroubi and his wife Fatemeh”. The website also states that Khamenei’s administrative adviser, Vahid Haghanian commanded the security forces, who raided Karroubi’s house in northern Tehran and confiscated his belongings.

“We believe that the supreme leader himself is responsible for this kidnapping and Vahid was appointed by him to carry out the operation,” says the website.

Since the disappearances, Iranian officials have given contradictory statements about the whereabouts of Karroubi, Mousavi and their wives.

Protests continued across Iran on 1 March to mark the apparent arrests of both men (MEED 2:3:11).

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