Mir Hossein Mousavi has been under house arrest in Iran for 12 years - without ever having been charged. The reform politician sees the ongoing protests over Tehran's women's policies as a sign that the "structure" of the system is "unsustainable."
One of the most important reform politicians in Iran, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, has called for "fundamental change" in the country in view of the protests against the leadership in Tehran that have been going on for months. "Iran and the Iranians need and are ready for fundamental change," the 80-year-old wrote in a statement published on his website and shared by local media.
The main features of such a change have already been mapped out by the "Women-Life-Freedom Movement", explained Mousavi, referring to the most important slogan of the demonstrators, whose protests since the death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the vice squad since mid-September shake country.
According to Mousavi, the protests are based on "interconnected crises". These are "crises of the economy, environment, society, legitimacy, culture and media". The well-known reformer considers the current "structure" of the system to be "unsustainable" and therefore proposes a "free and fair referendum" on a possible new constitution.
As with the "1979 People's Revolution," Mousavi said, the people "have a right to fundamental revisions to (...) smooth the way for freedom, justice, democracy and development" in Iran.
Mousavi ran against the arch-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election and denounced massive election fraud after his re-election. He and his wife have been under house arrest for twelve years without ever having been charged. At the time, the 80-year-old was one of the closest confidants of the founder of the republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1989.
