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| Iran 'releases 140 demonstrators' | Iran 'releases 140 demonstrators' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| About 140 Iranians detained during protests against last month's disputed election result have been released from Evin prison, officials say. | |
| About 200 others, accused of more serious crimes, remain in the prison. | |
| The release comes after Iran's supreme leader ordered the closure of another detention centre because it failed to "preserve the rights of detainees". | The release comes after Iran's supreme leader ordered the closure of another detention centre because it failed to "preserve the rights of detainees". |
| The unusual moves show how much pressure Iran's leaders are under over detainees, correspondents say. | |
| A spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Kazem Jalali, quoted by Iranian news agencies, said: "Those who were released had committed lighter offences." | A spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Kazem Jalali, quoted by Iranian news agencies, said: "Those who were released had committed lighter offences." |
| No well-known political figure was among the people released on Tuesday, he said. | No well-known political figure was among the people released on Tuesday, he said. |
| The committee was set up to investigate the detentions, with the leader of the judiciary ordering a review of all cases of those held in prison since the election. | The committee was set up to investigate the detentions, with the leader of the judiciary ordering a review of all cases of those held in prison since the election. |
| 'Agents of unrest' | |
| Mr Jalali, quoted by Fars, said 150 people who remain in prison were suspected of carrying weapons and bombs, and vandalising public property during the unrest. | |
| A further 50 prisoners were, according to judicial officials, the "agents of the unrest and some of them were members of anti-revolutionary groups," he was quoted by Fars as saying. | |
| The 200 cases were still being investigated. | |
| Supporters of the protesters say the true number of people detained is much higher. | |
| The releases from Evin came after a visit to the notorious prison by the committee, he said. | |
| Meanwhile, another detention centre - Kahrizak - was ordered closed "because it lacked necessary conditions to preserve rights of detainees," Mr Jalali was quoted earlier by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying. | |
| It is not clear whether the detainees at the Kahrizak centre were released or transferred elsewhere. | |
| In recent days the opposition has reported almost every day new deaths of protestors held in prison. | |
| Iran's prisons are notorious for their poor conditions, correspondents report. | |
| Former political prisoners, such as journalists and bloggers, have complained of human rights abuses such as solitary confinement, harsh interrogation tactics and even torture at Evin. |