TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday released 140 people detained in the country’s postelection turmoil and the supreme leader ordered the closure of a prison where human rights groups say jailed protesters were killed, in a nod by authorities to allegations of abuses in the crackdown on protests.
The pro-reform opposition has been contending for weeks that jailed protesters and activists were being held in secret facilities and could be undergoing torture.
Authorities appear to be paying greater attention to the complaints after the son of a prominent conservative died in prison — reportedly the same one ordered closed Tuesday.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi sharply condemned the wave of arrests and deaths, saying the Iranian people “will never forgive them.” The last official word of the number of people in prison from the crackdown was around 500, announced several weeks ago, and arrests have continued since. The crackdown was launched to put down protests that erupted following the June 12 presidential election, in which incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner but which the opposition says was fraudulent.
Among those detained are young protesters, as well as prominent pro-reform politicians, rights activists and lawyers. At least 20 people were killed, according to police, though rights groups say the number is likely far higher.
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, promised Monday that the public prosecutor would review the situation of all the postelection detainees within a week and decide whether to release or bring them to trial, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meanwhile, ordered the closure of Kahrizak prison, on Tehran’s southern outskirts, Jalili told the Mehr news agency. “It did not possess the required standards to ensure the rights of the detainees,” he said. Human rights groups have identified at least three protesters they say died after being detained at Kahrizak.
The opposition, however, received a setback when authorities denied it permission to hold a memorial for people slain in last month’s protests.
