Iran: Health Minister Ordered To Oversee Medical Care Of Opposition Leaders
Iran’s Minister of Health says he is personally responsible for following up on all the medical needs of Iranian opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since February 2011.
On Monday March 28, Khabaronline quoted Hasan Hashemi Ghazizadeh saying: “I am charged with providing all the necessary medical treatment to the individuals under house arrest.”
Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi have been under house arrest for their role in triggering the 2009 election protests with allegations of vote fraud. They have been cut off from the outside world, and their family members, who occasionally get to have brief visits with them, have complained that they are not being provided with adequate and timely medical treatment.
Hashemi said he is under the president’s orders to follow up on the matter and report back to him.
Ghazizadeh added: “The president has requested my direct attention to this matter, while the head of the judiciary has also trusted me with the responsibility of ensuring that all medical needs of these individuals are met in an orderly manner.”
Earlier reports indicate that the health minister personally operated on Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard, who both suffer from cataracts.
