The head of Iran's judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi has called for a review on the treatment and status of those arrested in the wake of the election within the week. He also ordered those prisoners arrested for minor crimes to be released on bail soon.
The judiciary has said that 300 people have been arrested in the wake of the unrest, but the number is probably higher. This ruling is a victory of sorts for the opposition because it states that the prisoners have some basic rights to know why they are being held and treated with some sort of dignity. Mohsen Rezai who was a conservative alternative to Ahmadinejad in the elecion praised the desicion, "I thank you for your order to clarify the fate of the detainees within one week." One of Rezai's top advisor's son Mohsen Rohallamini was killed in prison by the regime so Rezai must be feeling the pressure to resolve the prisoner situation.
Ayatollah Shahrudi is a hardliner, but it seems like he believes in the basic importance of the rule of law and order. Hopefully his ruling will allow for greater rights and possibly hearings for those who have been unjustly arrested by this regime. Perhaps Mohsen Rohallamini's tragic death in prison has had the positive consequence of bringing attention to plight of those still in prison.
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