A former vice-president accused of fomenting street riots after Iran's June election was released on bail of about $700,000 on Sunday, the judiciary said, after reports he had been sentenced to six years in jail. The official IRNA news agency quoted Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi as saying Mohammad Ali Abtahi was freed "temporarily."
Under Iranian law, people sentenced to jail can post bail and be out of prison while they are appealing.
Abtahi "was temporarily released after the completion of the trial, issuing of the verdict and collection of bail amounting to 7 billion rials (about $700,000)," Jafari Dolatabadi said, according to Reuters.
Abtahi, a cleric who was vice-president for parliament and legal affairs during Mohammad Khatami's 1997-2005 presidency, was officially informed about his sentence on Saturday, Jahan-e Eqtesad daily said.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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