Iran: British-Greek Reporter Held for Weeks Freed

In this photo released by Iranian Students News Agency, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks...

In this photo released by Iranian Students News Agency, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Saturday July, 4, 2009. (AP Photo/ISNA, Arash Khamushi) EDITORIAL USE ONLY -- EDITORS NOTE AS A RESULT OF AN OFFICIAL IRANIAN GOVERNMENT BAN ON FOREIGN MEDIA COVERING SOME EVENTS IN IRAN, THE AP WAS PREVENTED FROM INDEPENDENT ACCESS TO THIS EVENT.

(AP)

Iran said Sunday it has released a British-Greek journalist detained for two weeks during its postelection crackdown as opposition forces pressing their claims of fraud called for parliament to dismiss President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The freelance reporter for The Washington Times was accused Sunday of "illegal activities" during the protests that followed the June 12 presidential election. He was believed to be the only journalist without Iranian citizenship among the hundreds of journalists, bloggers and activists detained.

Greece's Foreign Ministry confirmed his release and said he would leave Iran "within the day."

The government's crackdown has quelled days of deadly street unrest, but authorities are still grappling with how to handle the fallout from an election that has exposed divisions in both the streets and in the clerical leadership. The opposition has claimed widespread election fraud and claims that opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is the true winner, not Ahmadinejad.

Iran has released most of those it detained after the election, and authorities are moving ahead with legal action against some of those still in custody, including an Iranian who works at the British Embassy.

Iran has sought to cast the outpouring of opposition to Ahmadinejad's re-election as being led by foreign powers, singling out Britain and accusing its embassy staff of involvement.

A week after the last street protest and with the main opposition leader not being seen in public, opposition figures tried Sunday to maintain momentum with a call for parliament to dismiss Ahmadinejad.

Ali Reza Beheshti, a close ally of Mousavi, said "people expect their representatives to represent them and not to defend authorities by any means."

"I wish the lawmakers would respect the demands of the majority of their constituents" and submit a bill disqualifying the president, Beheshti was quoted as saying on a pro-Mousavi Web site called Norooznews.