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Freedom House Demands Immediate Release of Iranian Opposition Leaders

Washington -Freedom House demands the immediate release of Iranian opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi and their wives, who were reportedly transferred to Heshmatiyeh prison in northeast Tehran from a "safe house" in an unknown location on Monday.

According to an opposition website linked to Mousavi, Kaleme, the arrests of the Green Movement opposition leaders and their wives come a day ahead of protests planned for Tuesday. Since Iranian protestors took to the streets to show solidarity with Egyptian and Tunisian pro-democracy protestors on February 14, Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi and their wives, Fatemeh Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard, were placed under house arrest. Green Movement supporters planned to protest the Islamic Republic's mistreatment of their leaders each Tuesday until their release. On Monday, in anticipation of the protests, the regime moved all four detainees to a prison run by the army.

"The Iranian government's arrest of the Green Movement leaders and its utter disregard for accountability are deplorable," said David J. Kramer, executive director at Freedom House. "Freedom House condemns their arrest and demands that the leaders and their wives be released immediately. The UN Human Rights Council should hold the Iranian government to account for its 'disappearance' of these politicians and their wives over the last few days."

Heshmatiyeh prison is notorious for the harsh treatment of prisoners as an isolated, military prison. The official Iranian Fars New Agency denied the imprisonment of the Green Movement leaders, hoping to censor the information to avoid fueling the protests planned for Tuesday.

Iran is ranked Not Free in *Freedom in the World 2010*, Freedom House's survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Not Free in *Freedom of the Press 2010.

For more information on Iran, visit:

Freedom in the World 2010: Iran

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

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