Iranian prisoner abuse punished

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Iran has taken action against guards at a detention centre over the mistreatment of protesters arrested after June's disputed elections.

Two officers have been punished for beating prisoners at the Kahrizak centre, which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered closed in July.

Several prison officials were also sacked for allowing overcrowding.

In a separate move, the Tehran offices of the independent Association of Iranian Journalists have been closed.

The decision was taken by the Iranian judiciary.

The secretary of the association, Badrossadat Mofidi, said hardliners could have taken advantage of the current political situation to take action against the body.

The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists called on the Iranian authorities to end what it called a campaign of intimidation of journalists.

It said 42 journalists were currently in detention in Iran, with three opposition journalists having been arrested this week.