US urges release of Iranian opposition leaders

US urges release of Iranian opposition leaders

Call comes on fifth anniversary of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karrubi, Zahra Rahnavard’s detention

World Bulletin / News Desk

The U.S. State Department on Sunday called on Iran to release three opposition leaders who have been held under house arrest since 2011.

Reformists Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi were candidates in Iran’s 2009 presidential election. They have spent the past five years under house arrest along with Mousavi’s wife Zahra Rahnavard, a prominent women’s rights activist.

They have been held without formal charges.

“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,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

Mousavi and Karrubi led the Green Revolution, which criticized the vote that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected as rigged.

The trio was arrested following calls for large-scale protests on the back of popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

“We repeat our appeal for the immediate release of these individuals and of all prisoners who are being held for their religious or political beliefs,” Toner said.