Key cleric wants Iran election prisoners freed

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- One of Iran's most powerful clerics, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has called on the Iranian government to release those people arrested following last month's disputed presidential election.

"There is no need to have these numbers of people in prison," the former Iranian president said during his highly anticipated Friday sermon.

"Let them come back to their families. Let the enemy not laugh at us and criticize us. We must sympathize with those who have suffered damages. The system cannot lose them. If the system reapproaches them they will come back to us."

Tens of thousands of people gathered in and around Tehran University as Rafsanjani spoke for about an hour, according to witnesses at the speech. Iranian police used tear gas to disperse some of the crowds.

Rafsanjani backs reformist Mir Hossein Moussavi, the opposition candidate who challenged hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the disputed June 12 vote.

After weeks of silence, Rafsanjani has become increasingly vocal in opposing the brutal crackdown on demonstrators who protested election results. He was under pressure to publicly deliver support for the Iranian establishment in his upcoming remarks.

Earlier this month, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) quoted Rafsanjani as saying: "People from across the county participated in the elections with excitement. But unfortunately, the events that occurred after that, and the difficulties created for some, left a bitter taste, and I don't think any wakened consciousness would be satisfied with the resulting situation."

"After a monthlong silence, the position of Hashemi Rafsanjani will be very important for those of all political inclinations, particularly those who are aiming at the (destruction) of the unity of the system," lawmaker Mohammad Karim Shahrzad said in a recent interview with Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)

Shahrzad called on Rafsanjani -- head of the Assembly of Experts, the council responsible for appointing or removing the supreme leader -- to "announce the support of the Supreme Leadership as the highest authority" in his speech.

A member of parliament said Rafsanjani's sermon will be "historic."

"What is certain is that Ayatollah Hashemi holds dear the principles and values of the Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] that are founded upon the people," said Ghodratollah AliKhani, quoted in Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with Karrubi.

"The principle weight of this system and revolution has been on the shoulders of the people, who are today the foundations of this system and Ayatollah Hashemi will certainly, in his speech, keep in mind the defense of the people and their rights," AliKhani said.

Moussavi's supporters took to the streets last month to protest the outcome of last month's election that gave Ahmadinejad an overwhelming victory.

Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh, and four other of his relatives were briefly detained for taking part in one of those rallies.

The widespread street protests and civil unrest led to the death of at least 20 demonstrators and the arrest of more than 1,000, according to Iran's state-run media. The numbers of casualties and arrests could not be independently verified by CNN because of restrictions on international journalists by the Iranian government.

Rafsanjani remains an influential figure in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's circle, but he has made "a real break with the supreme leader in this case," Iranian-American author Hooman Majd told CNN recently.

He was missing when Iran's power brokers assembled on June 19 at Friday prayers to hear Khamenei declare Ahmadinejad the winner.

Ahmadinejad is scheduled to be sworn in before parliament on July 26.