Karroubi quoted released detainees as saying that some of the young women have been so brutally raped in jail that their genitals were torn.

In a letter to the head of the clergy Experts' Assembly Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Karroubi also claimed that young male prisoners had been 'brutally raped'.

Larijani said that he would follow up the claims, the daily Etemad Melli reported Tuesday.

'A special committee is following up the (rape) case and will soon make a report and I personally will follow up the case as well,' Larijani said.

Some of the arrested protestors were sent to Kahrizak prison in southern Tehran, also known as 'Tehran's Guantanamo,' which was closed down last month because it lacked the necessary standards for preserving detainees' rights.

Both the Iranian police chief and prosecutor's general office have confirmed physical abuse in the Kahrizak prison, saying they were 'indefensible' and demanded punishment for all those responsible for mistreating prisoners.