MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian authorities have released around 140 protestors detained during Iran's post-election riots, officials said on Tuesday.
Over 20 people were killed and about 1,000 were arrested during riots sparked by the controversial reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12.
The rapporteur of the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Kazem Jalali, told Iranian media that 140 detainees facing minor charges were released on bail from the Evin prison.
About 200 detainees facing serious charges such as possession of firearms and damaging public property will remain in custody and face trial. Among these are "some political figures, members of anti-revolutionary groups and some foreigners," Jalali told the English-language Press TV channel.
In addition, Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the closure of the Kahrizak detention center in southern Tehran due to sub-standard living conditions. Officials did not clarify whether the inmates were to be released or transported to another jail.
