Mousavi Hospital Photograph Released

An Iranian website has published the first photograph of Mir Hossein Mousavi in his hospital bed. The image shows the Green Movement leader and former presidential candidate in the cardiology ward of a Tehran hospital,  where he was rushed on April 30th. He is now reported to be back at home, guarded by authorities.

Opposition website Kaleme published the photograph earlier today.

Mousavi, who has been under house arrest since February 2011 when he contested the results of the 2009 elections, is reported to have suffered from poor health on several occasions during his incarceration. His daughters have confirmed the latest reports, though Iranian government officials refuse to issue any information about his condition.

A doctor at the hospital blamed authorities for neglecting his patient’s treatment. He told Kaleme that officials had not been in contact, “and it appears that they have no intention of bringing him back to the hospital.”

On Monday Mousavi’s daughters travelled to the holy city of Qom to meet with influential clerics and religious leaders and plead their father’s case. Among others, they met with prominent conservative cleric Grand Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, who is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Mousavi supporters hope that such visits will force the Iranian government to acknowledge their responsibility to uphold the rights of Mousavi and the other Green Movement leaders under house arrest, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard. 

But, in its attempts to remove opposition figures from political life, the government continues to hold activists without charge and neglect their basic medical needs. And, by ensuring the wider world has no access to news about Mousavi and other opposition leaders, Iranian authorities hope their calls for reform will vanish from public awareness altogether.