(Associated Free Press hosted by Google) | March 10, 2010

TEHRAN — Iran has freed for the new year holidays a prominent opposition figure rounded up during protests against the disputed June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, news reports said Thursday.

A number of activists and journalists have also been freed under varying conditions in the last few days, the reports said.

“Mostafa Tajzadeh, a top member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organisation who was arrested on June 13 (a day after the election) was allowed to go on leave,” opposition website kaleme.com reported.

The ILNA news agency said Tajzadeh was freed Wednesday evening without posting bail and is “on leave” for the Iranian new year, Nowrouz, which is marked on March 21.

ILNA and kaleme.com both said that Tajzadeh had twice appeared in court charged with “propagating against the regime, insulting officials and harbouring confidential documents.”

No verdict has yet been given, the reports said.

Tajzadeh, who campaigned for defeated presidential candidate turned opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, served as deputy interior minister during the 1997-2005 tenure of reformist former president Mohammad Khatami.

His release coincides with a decision by the IIPF to accede to a request by the interior ministry to cancel its 12th annual congress scheduled for Thursday, according kaleme.com

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Dave Siavashi is a new media journalist, blogger, technologist, editor and founder of Iran News Now. A pioneer in live-blog reporting on the Mideast and breaking news, his work has been quoted in multiple news publications and he is regularly tweeted and retweeted by the journalists of the Twitterverse. He writes for Iran News Now and EA Wordview.
  • http://www.irannewsnow.com/2010/03/selected-headlines-march-11-2010/ Selected Headlines, March 11, 2010 | Iran News Now

    [...] Iran frees top opposition figure for new year [...]

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