Iran's Official Hopes Opposition Chiefs to Be Freed

The head of the Iranian judiciary's High Council of Human Rights said Tuesday he hoped that two reformist opposition leaders will be freed from more than three years of house arrest, media reported.

Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, both candidates in the disputed 2009 presidential election won by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been held incommunicado since February 2011.

They were accused of orchestrating massive street protests against the election, widely suspected of being fraudulent.

"I hope their cases will be processed and we do not see them under house arrest anymore," Mohammad Javad Larijani, a prominent conservative, was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

"Prison and house arrest are not appropriate," he added.

The protests turned deadly when authorities resorted to a heavy-handed crackdown in which thousands of protesters, reformist activists and journalists were arrested.

Mousavi and Karroubi had claimed that the election of Ahmadinejad to a second term had been rigged.

The fate of Mousavi and Karroubi -- both of whom are reportedly suffering health problems -- has attracted global attention and triggered heated debates at home.

Last week, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called for "the immediate release" of the two men and for "their urgent and adequate access to medical care."

In December, influential Iranian conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, said the judiciary should end free the men or put them on trial.

Larijani said, without elaborating, that there were judicial and security-related charges against Mousavi and Karroubi.

"The stance of our committee is to facilitate the process towards the final decision-making," he added.

President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, pledged after his election last June to work for political and cultural liberalization in Iran.

But he has stopped short of involving himself in the cases of Mousavi and Karroubi.

In September, authorities freed around 15 reformists, journalists and lawyers, including prominent rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.