Tehran, Dec 28, IRNA -- MP from Tehran Ahmad Bourghani was summoned here Saturday to the Bench 1410 of Tehran public court to answer questions relating to the case of the banned polling institutes.

He said that he was represented by his two attorneys in the case. The issue of the rls 200 million financial assistance to National Institute for Research and Opinion Polls Headed by the now incarcerated Behrouz Geranpayeh was discussed, Bourghani stated.

The connection between the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the cash assistance in question was also discussed, he said.

Bourghani, previously a deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance, said "this was the fourth court session and it will continue on Sunday."

Meanwhile, in a packed court room here Wednesday the trial of Abbas Abdi who has been detained over a polling which claimed most Iranians favored resumption of dialogue with the United States, began.

The trial started at Bench 1410 of the Tehran public court and the plaintiff in the case read out his indictment, accusing Abdi of "selling information and tampering with the polling results".

The case, which also involves three other people, is related to a survey published by the Ayandeh research institute which claimed most Iranians favored dialogue with the United States.

The court has accused the defendants of carrying out the research on the order of the Washington-based Gallup Organization.

Other people involved in the case are Hossein Qazian and Alireza Alavitabar, both affiliated to the Ayandeh research institute. The fourth defendant in the case, Geranpayeh, who is the head of the National Institute for Research and Opinion Polls, faces similar charges which have yet to be brought against him.

Qazian, Abdi and Geranpayeh are held in detention, but Alavitabar has not been arrested yet.

Abdi is a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) and former student leader in the takeover of US embassy in Tehran. His arrest came on the 23rd anniversary of the takeover.

Tehran and Washington have held no diplomatic ties since 1979 after the US severed its relations with the Islamic Republic after 'Students Following the Line of Imam' stormed the US embassy, known as the den of espionage, and took its staff hostage.