Conservative Iranian parliament member Ali Motahhari was physically confronted and prevented from finishing his speech during a session of parliament over statements he made in support of ending the house arrests of the 2009 Green Movement leaders.
During his Jan. 11 speech, Motahhari, who has a history of making controversial comments and has even recently said that he disagrees with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s position on the issue, has in recent months championed the cause of ending the detention of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest for nearly four years for challenging the results of the 2009 presidential elections.