[Al Arabiya Latest] Twenty five more Iranian protesters will go on trial Saturday as fresh claims surfaced that several protesters in jail were tortured to death while Khamenei appointed a new chief of judiciary. "The third session of the elements of recent riots in Tehran will be held on Sunday," a court statement carried by the ISNA news agency said. "In this session charges against 25 defendants...will be presented."Iran has already put on trial 110 people charged with protesting against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The defendants include top reformists, political activists, a French lecturer and two employees of the French and the British embassies.
The trial of lecturer Clotilde Reiss has finished, although she remains in custody. Securing her release has been a diplomatic priority for Paris, with President Nicolas Sarkozy raising the case with other leaders.
Opposition leaders have denounced the court proceedings as "show trials." The hearings have angered the international community and heightened political tensions as Iran battles its worst political crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.