Detained, ailing Iran opposition leader ends hunger strike

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The son of Iranian opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi, under house arrest since 2011, says his father has ended a hunger strike over his detention but remains in hospital.

Mohammad Karroubi tweeted that his father decided to end the strike after authorities said that security guards could leave the inside part of the Karroubis’ home. The guards remain on the premises, though, and Mahdi Karroubi is still officially under house arrest.

The elder Karroubi led the Green Movement and street protests together with another opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, challenging then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election.

Karroubi began a hunger strike on Wednesday, demanding a public trial and that the guards leave the inner part of his home. The 79-year-old, who suffers from heart disease, was taken to hospital early on Thursday.