Tehran- Hardline Tehran Prosecutor Saeid Mortazavi left office on Wednesday, ISNA news agency reported, while praising the "holy war" against those who protested alleged fraud in the presidential election.

Newly appointed Chief judge Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli-Larijani replaced Mortazavi last week with Abbas Jafar Dowlatbadi who is considered as more moderate than his predecessor.

Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani appointed Mortazavi as deputy in the general prosecutor's office where his authority is however considered limited.

Mortazavi was one of the most notorious officials in the Iranian judiciary involved in the prosecution of chief editors and a well-known opponent of the country's reformist wings.

He was also involved in the prosecution of more than 100 dissidents who had accused the government of fraud in the June 12 presidential election which led to the re- election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"We faced a social crisis following the (presidential) election and I avail myself of this opportunity to thank all my former colleagues for their holy war to defuse this big plot," Mortazavi said in his farewell ceremony.

Mortazavi was also linked to the mysterious death of Iranian- Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi who died of a brain haemorrhage in June 2003, after she was arrested for taking pictures outside the Evin prison north of Teheran.

According to government investigations, Kazemi was struck over the head during interrogation which was reportedly led by Mortazavi.

Mortazavi was also in charge of closing down several reformist daily newspapers in the last ten years.

The Iranian judiciary has in recent weeks paid more attention to opposition claims of torture and sexual abuses of post-vote detainees as well as mass burials in Tehran's Behesht Zahra cemetery.

Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani has ordered formation of a three-man team, including his newly appointed Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, to investigate accusations by the opposition and make a detailed report.

The new head of the judiciary power has also reportedly pledged to release at least some of the detainees.

The leader of the Etemad Melli opposition party, Mehdi Karroubi, reiterated on Monday his allegations that rapes had taken place at Tehran prisons and said that he would never make any charges without having documented proof.

The government has categorically denied the charges raised by Karroubi but the moderate cleric still affirmed that some young women and men had been so brutally raped in jail that they suffered injuries to their genitals.

Several conservative officials have asked for Karroubi to be prosecuted over his allegations. Their calls were backed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who demanded the judiciary prosecute the leaders of the recent unrest.

Karroubi, however, said he would not be intimidated by threats and would continue his campaign until those alleged to have carried out the rapes were identified.