BBC: Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidate has said that some protesters held after last month's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.
The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped. Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.
The BBC's Jon Leyne says the opposition uses the issue to maintain political pressure without directly questioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's poll victory.
On Thursday, Mr Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.
"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.
Mr Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".
On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.
The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.
"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009
