(CNN) -- For much of the world, February 14 is known as a day to celebrate love. But in Iran, Valentine's Day has come to mark another occasion as well—the anniversary of the house arrest of Iran's leading opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard. On February 14, 2011, Iranian authorities placed Mousavi, Karroubi and Rahnavard under house arrest for calling on Iranians to demonstrate in support of the popular Arab uprisings across the region. According to Reuters, earlier this month Karroubi was moved from a Ministry of Intelligence-controlled safe house to his own home. The transfer shined new light on the plight of Iran's "prisoners of rights"— those imprisoned for seeking to exercise commonly recognized political, social, religious, economic, and cultural rights, denied to them by the Iranian government.
@highlight
Gissou Nia: Feb 14 marks the anniversary of the house arrest of leading opposition figures
@highlight
Iran's prisoners of rights include lawyers, students, musicians, bloggers, writes Nia
@highlight
Nia: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pledged to increase civil and cultural freedoms
@highlight
Unfortunately, these hopes have gone largely unrealized, she says
The easing of restrictions on @placeholder's house arrest will be of key interest to observers tracking President Hassan Rouhani's delivery on promises he made on the campaign trail in last June's presidential election.