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TEHRAN, Iran : Twenty people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in the protests that swept Tehran after the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad last month, the country's police chief said Wednesday.
"No policeman was killed in the Tehran riots but 20 rioters were killed," police chief Ahmadi Moghaddam was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.
"Police arrested 1,032 people in the recent riots. Many have been released and the rest are being prosecuted in Tehran's public and revolutionary courts," he added.
Tehran and other cities across Iran were roiled by a wave of opposition protests over Ahmadinejad's re-election in the June 12 presidential poll that his opponents claim was rigged.
The English-language state-run Press TV had reported a death toll of 20 people, including eight members of the Basij volunteer Islamic militia which was at the forefront of the crackdown on protests.
In a separate report, Fars said three local British embassy remained in custody out of nine who were originally detained on allegations of stoking the unrest.
Moghaddam also said that the Iranian authorities were pursuing a doctor who said he witnessed the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan during street protests in Tehran in an incident that sparked an international outcry.
Arash Hejazi told the BBC last week that Neda, whose final moments bleeding to death were seen across the world in an Internet video, was apparently shot by a member of the Basij militia.
"Arash Hejazi is wanted by intelligence ministry and Interpol," Moghaddam said.
- AFP/vm
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