Iran 'to release 140 protesters'

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

About 140 Iranian prisoners detained during protests against last month's disputed election are to be released, officials say.

The release comes after Iran's supreme leader ordered the closure of a detention centre because it failed to "preserve the rights of detainees".

The 140-odd prisoners had committed minor offences, an official was quoted by Fars news agency as saying.

About 150 other people accused of serious crimes would remain in prison.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8173113.stm

[Soylent Brice]

1. anybody know how many people in all were detained to begin with?

seems like it was well over 290.

[Turborama]

2. This Human Rights Watch article quotes state media as saying that 450 were arrested in just one day

And, similar to the BBC article, activists say the total is much more likely to be in the thousands...

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=snip=

Human Rights Watch said that the shooting dead of unarmed protesters must be investigated speedily and independently, and that those responsible for the deaths, including anyone who gave the orders, must be identified and prosecuted.

"Instead of coming clean about what happened on the streets of Tehran on June 20, Iran is busy covering up the responsibility of its security forces for the killings of demonstrators," said Whitson. "It is clear that Iran's supreme leader has sent a strong message to the security forces to end the protests, regardless of the level of violence involved."

The security forces have also intensified their nationwide campaign of arrests of opponents. According to state media, at least 457 protesters were detained during Saturday's violence in Tehran alone, but the number of persons arrested nationwide is now reported by opposition activists to be in the thousands. In addition to arresting those taking part in protests, the security forces have continued to arrest major reformist politicians and clerics, student leaders, local journalists and bloggers, officials of reformist parties, human rights lawyers and activists in Tehran and other cities, Human Rights Watch has been informed

Human Rights Watch has spoken to relatives of three persons detained since the disputed June 12 elections. They confirm that the investigation of those arrested is being led by Mortazavi, the prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court and prosecutor-general of Tehran. Human Rights Watch research has previously implicated Mortazavi in serious human rights abuses , including torture, illegal detention, and coercing false confessions.

Full article: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/23/iran-violent-crackdown-protesters-widens

[Soylent Brice]

3. so, as good as it is for those 140 to be going home,

there's still hundreds of people that are royally screwed.

just peachy.

thanks for the link.