TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian authorities have released three
journalists who were among more than 100 people arrested during
pro-government and opposition street demonstrations this week, the
country's official news agency reported.
One of the reporters, Farhad Pouladi, is an Iranian who works
for Agence France-Presse. The other two are foreign reporters, but
the report by the IRNA news agency did not identify them or say for
whom they work.
Police detained 109 people during the rallies this week, IRNA
said. Sixty-two of them were handed over to judicial authorities
for trial on charges of disturbing public order and the rest were
released after questioning, said security spokesman Azizollah
Rajabzadeh, according to the news report.
Iranian security forces beat anti-government protesters with
batons Wednesday on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to
mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover. The
counter-demonstrations were the opposition's first major show of
force on Tehran's streets in nearly two months.
The protests showed the determination of Iran's opposition to
reassert its voice. But the latest marches drew far fewer
demonstrators than in the weeks after the disputed June 12
presidential election, suggesting the relentless pressure by
authorities could be taking a toll.
The protesters believe Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory over a
pro-reform candidate was rigged.
The IRNA report said the three journalists released Saturday had
been taken into custody Wednesday as they headed to cover the
rallies outside the former U.S. Embassy.
Iran has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on media that include
bans on firsthand reporting of street demonstrations and other
events not authorized by authorities.
IRNA said two political activists jailed over the country's
postelection turmoil, Ali Tajernia and Ebrahim Amini, have also
been released on bail pending a verdict in their trial.
More than a 100 political activists and protesters have stood
trial since August on charges of seeking to topple the ruling
system through what the government has described as a ''velvet
revolution.''
(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)