Musavi Ally Says 69 Dead Since Iran Election

TEHRAN (Reuters) -- An ally of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi has said 69 people were killed in unrest that erupted after the country's disputed June 12 presidential election, the "Sarmayeh" daily said.

"The names of 69 people who were killed in post-election unrest...were submitted to parliament for investigation. The report also included the names of about 220 detainees," said Alireza Hosseini Beheshti.

Iranian authorities have said some 26 people were killed in the unrest after the vote, which opposition leaders say was rigged to secure the reelection of hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. He was officially sworn in on August 5.

Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said over 4,000 protesters had been arrested nationwide since the vote. "But 3,700 of them were released in the first week after their arrest," Jamshidi told an August 11 news conference.

Among those still in prison are senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, activists, and lawyers.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said parliament would carefully review cases of the detainees and those killed in the postelection unrest, the "Etemad-e melli" newspaper reported.

Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi on August 9 said on his website that some protesters, both male and female, had been raped while in detention and that he had written to the head of a powerful arbitration body calling for an investigation.

"Such claims [of rape and abuse of detainees] will be investigated by parliament," Larijani said.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a prison's closure in July, citing a "lack of necessary standards" to preserve prisoners' rights, and police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said some of the protesters held at the Kahrizak detention center had been tortured.

Many of the postelection detainees were held in Kahrizak in southern Tehran, which was built to house people who broke the country's vice laws.

At least three people died in custody there and widespread anger erupted as news spread of abuse in the jail.

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Following the disputed reelection of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, supporters of Mir Hossein Musavi have taken to the streets to protest. Click here for news, blogs, and analysis of the presidential election and aftermath.