Source: Khabar Online Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi said the prisoners' confessions in court were part of a legal procedure and would not have a major impact on the verdict.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Dorri-Najafabadi said, "The judges will pass a verdict based on the evidence and documentation in the files, and the confessions and testimonies of the defendants will not have much impact on the final ruling."

In response to a question about the ambiguity surrounding the situation of a number of detainees including Mostafa Tajzadeh, the Prosecutor-General said, "Mr. Tajzadeh is in good health and contacted his family last night."

In response to a question about the necessity of having open trials, Dorri-Najafabadi said, "If they had consulted us beforehand, we might have had a different opinion."

Dorri-Najafabadi went on to explain that the reason for trying Mohammad-Ali Abtahi in the Revolution Court instead of the Clerical Court was because "he is one of the persons of interest in this case [of post-election unrest]."

The Clerical Court was established in 1979 upon the order of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, to hear cases against clerics and to hand out necessary punishments to offenders of their rank.

The Clerical Court is independent from the Judiciary and the High Court and is directly under the supervision of the Supreme Leader.