Tehran - Iranian human-rights lawyer Shadi Sadr was released from jail Tuesday, informed sources in Tehran said.

Sadr, who is known for her work in campaigning for women's rights, was arrested July 17 while she was on her way to attend the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran.

Sadr is said to be one of the 140 prisoners released on Tuesday on bail, the sources said.

Although her release has not been officially confirmed, but her friends carried the news of her release on websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

ISNA news agency reported that 140 prisoners were released on Tuesday from the notorious Evin prison in northern Tehran and 150 were still in jail.

The judiciary had said that 300 protesters were still detained for having accused the government of fraud in the June 12 presidential election.

Parliament deputy Kazem Jalali told ISNA that the 150 still detained were partly charged with having had weapons and caused damage to public properties during the protest demonstrations and partly for having been linked to anti-revolutionary groups.

The mass release on Monday came following Monday's order by judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi who said that detainees with no major charges should be released on bail within one week.

Another parliament deputy, Farhad Tajari, told ILNA news agency that not 20, as so far officially announced, but 30 people were killed in recent demonstrations.

There is however no confirmation by other official sources on the new death toll as claimed by Tajari.

In the meantime Fars news agency reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Shahroudi to order the release of protestors.

"Those who have acted unknowingly and been provoked by internal political trends or influenced by external enemies' propaganda should enjoy religious mercy and their families be enlightened by their release," Ahmadinejad said in a letter to the chief judge.

It was not clear whether the president's letter was issued before or after Tuesday's release of the 140 prisoners.

The reason for the arrest of Sadr on July 17 is still unclear but it is believed to have been due to her controversial background in her engagement for women's rights in Iran.

The 35-year-old Sadr was previously arrested in 2007 in Tehran when she staged a protest demonstration against women's rights violations by an Iranian court.

Sadr had also harshly protested against stoning of women for adultery and acted as attorney in several controversial court cases.(dpa)