TEHRAN, Iran — A parliament official says 140 people detained in Iran’s postelection turmoil have been released from Tehran’s main prison Evin. "Kazem Jalali says the prisoners were released after a parliament committee investigating detainees’ condition visited Evin on Tuesday, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Jalali, a spokesman for the committee, says 150 prisoners remain at Evin."
It was on Twitter. I forgot to grab it in my excitement. I'll have a look now. [UPDATE - 1] Here's one link I just found. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election [UPDATE - 2] Associated Press - Just in http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGSJEAPs_r2T2wxsL5G3t4z-jajQD99NGGD00 [UPDATE - 3] BBC story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8173113.stm
The regime released the prisoners just before they announced that trials for protesters would commence on Sunday and that trials for those directing the protesters would start soon. This is called inconsistent positive reinforcement. It is a more powerful psychological tool than mere oppression. It confuses the people. It makes them question their own minds, goals, actions, and so on. But now that we know what it is, now that we have named the beast, it doesn't do diddly squat.
