Iranian conservative MP Ali Motahari told the Khabar on line website that it’s no longer necessary to continue incarcerating political prisoners who were jailed following the 2009 election protests.

“I believe after this year’s election and in view of the national reconciliation, there is no need to persist in certain decisions including the house arrest of certain people,” Motahari said.

The reformist candidates from the 2009 election, who challenged the legitimacy of that election’s results, have been under house arrest since February 2011.

Motahari said security concerns about releasing the opposition leaders are no longer valid, adding: “Before, they said the release of these figures may result in reigniting the Green Movement and compromising the country’s security, but now main sections of the Green Movement have reconciled with the regime, and there is no need to continue these house arrests.”

Motahari stressed that opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi should never have been put under house arrest in the absence of proper legal proceedings.

Motahari maintained that president-elect Hassan Rohani has to initiate talks with security forces and the judiciary in a calm and uncharged atmosphere to achieve the release of political prisoners.

He stressed that an open political atmosphere is in the interest of the Islamic Republic system, adding that if senior reformist figures such as Behzad Nabavi and Mostafa Tajadeh were free and were writing articles, the system would in no way suffer from it.

The victory of reformist-backed Hassan Rohani in the presidential election has raised hopes that political prisoners will be gradually released.

Radio Zamaneh