Four people who say they were sexually abused in jail after Iran's disputed election may be ready to provide testimony to parliament, a lawmaker quoted pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi.

Karoubi made the statement in a meeting with six members of a special committee set up by the assembly to look into the situation for those detained during post-election street protests, Mehr News Agency quoted MP Kazem Jalali as saying.

Karoubi, who came fourth in the June 12 election won by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has come under fire from hardliners for his allegation this month that some detained protesters, both men and women, were raped and abused in jail.

The authorities have rejected the accusations as baseless, but parliament speaker Ali Larijani last week said he would be ready to consider any documents or other evidence submitted by Karoubi to back up his claims.

Jalali said he and five other members of the parliament committee met Karoubi on Monday.

"Karoubi agreed to introduce four persons, who have met him personally and claimed that they were tortured and raped in prison, to parliament," said Jalali, apparently referring to the committee and not to the full assembly.

"Karoubi told us these four persons are ready to provide their testimonies that they were sexually abused, but they do not feel secure," Mehr quoted him as saying.

It did not make clear if they wanted security guarantees for testifying.

Some hardliners have called for Karoubi to be arrested or tried if he failed to prove his allegations. Karoubi says he has evidence of mistreatment of detainees. He has also said some of those arrested were killed under torture.

Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who came second in the vote, last week lent support to Karoubi and accused "establishment agents" of raping and abusing detainees, according to the reformist website mowjcamp.com.

Mousavi and Karoubi say the election was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad's re-election. The president and his allies deny it.

The poll and its turbulent aftermath have plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, exposing deepening divisions within its ruling elite and also further straining relations with the West.

Iran arrested thousands of people during widespread street unrest after the vote. At least 200 people remain in jail, including senior moderate politicians, activists, lawyers and journalists. Iran has this month staged three mass trials against detainees. A fourth trial is due to start on Tuesday. – Reuters