Article content

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s official news agency is reporting that authorities have released a close ally of the president from custody, a day after he was arrested over an alleged role in the torture and killing of prisoners.

As Tehran’s prosecutor general, Saeed Mortazavi was also responsible for sending Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi to prison where she was tortured and killed.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Iran releases 'butcher of the press' prosecutor linked to Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi's death Back to video

The report by IRNA quotes an unnamed official as saying Mortazavi has been released.

He has been at the centre of an escalating confrontation between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals in parliament ahead of the June presidential election.

An investigation by parliament two years ago found Mortazavi responsible for deaths by torture of at least three jailed anti-government protesters in 2009.

Kazemi was beaten, raped and killed after her arrest for photographing wives of detainees outside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.