Mr Abtahi is one of the most high-profile reformists to be convicted A former Iranian vice-president has reportedly been released on bail having been convicted of fomenting unrest after June's disputed elections. The leading reformist, Mohammed Ali Abtahi, had earlier been sentenced to six years in jail, reports said. Around 80 people have been jailed and five sentenced to death over the unrest that followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed poll victory. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for government restraint. "The government should not intimidate people to change their path," he was quoted as saying on his Kaleme website. Mr Mousavi, who was Mr Ahmadinejad's leading challenger for the presidency, has vowed to continue the struggle against what he says was a fraudulent election. "This movement will continue and we are ready to pay any price," he said. Forced confession? Mr Abtahi has been temporarily released on bail of 7bn rials ($425,000), Iran's official Irna news agency reported on Sunday. Under Iranian law, people sentenced to more than three months in jail can be released on bail pending appeal. Mr Abtahi's lawyer said his client - who served as vice-president under former President Mohammad Khatami from 1997-2005 - had 20 days to appeal against the verdict. The UN has criticised harassment of the opposition since the election Irna quoted an unnamed court official as saying: "Abtahi was sentenced to six years in prison for acting against national security and propaganda activity." Mr Abtahi had been in custody since he was detained shortly after the 12 June polls. In August, Mr Abtahi was quoted by Fars news agency as telling his trial: "The issue of fraud in Iran was a lie and was brought up to create riots." Tried alongside a number of other reformist figures, he said the aim of the post-election protests had been to create a "velvet revolution", referring to the overthrow of Communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Mr Abtahi also appeared on television admitting to provoking riots, but his family said the statements were made under duress. Mosharekat, Iran's biggest reformist party and a leading backer of Mr Mousavi, dismissed the proceedings as a "laughable show trial". UN resolution The protests after June's disputed polls were the largest mass demonstrations seen in Iran since the 1979 revolution, which brought the current Islamic regime to power. Mir Hossein Mousavi has said opposition protests will continue On Friday, a key UN committee voted to approve a non-binding resolution condemning Iran for its post-election crackdown. The resolution also repeated annual criticism of Iran's human rights record, including the use of torture and a rising number of executions. It urged Tehran to end persecution of political opponents and release those imprisoned for their political views. Iran's UN ambassador dismissed the resolution as politically motivated. At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes and thousands arrested since the elections. Some 200 opposition activists remain behind bars. Foreign media, including the BBC, have been restricted in their coverage of Iran since the election protests turned violent.
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presidential elections in Iran (June 2009)
Former Iranian vice-president Mohammed Ali Abtahi has been released on bail pending appeal after being sentenced to six years in prison on Saturday for his part in the protests following the presidential elections in June.

"Abtahi was sentenced to six years in prison for acting against national security and propaganda activity," an anonymous court official told the ''INSA'' news agency. According to the agency, he was released on bail set at seven billion rials (); under Iranian law, all convictions of a minimum of three months are subject to appeal and bail may be granted for the first twenty days to allow anyone sentenced to lodge one. "Abtahi was released this afternoon after he paid the bail amount," Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi told IRNA.

Abtahi, who was as a minister and vice-president under President Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, is amongst thousands who were arrested following protests; two hundred still behind bars of which around eighty have been sentenced to jail and a further five to death. He has remained in custody ever since his arrest. He was convicted of various charges, including "gathering and plotting against the country's security, propaganda against the regime, insulting the president and participating in an illegal demonstration." He also faces further charges of "keeping classified documents."

Opposition critics have called the prosecutions "laughable show trials" and spoken of "forced confessions". They have called for the unconditional release of prisoners. On Friday, a United Nations committee passed a vote to approve a non-binding resolution which condemns Iran for its reaction to the protests following the election, criticising Iran's record on human rights, highlighting torture and executions. The committee has also called on the Iranian government to stop persecuting its political opponents and release political prisoners.