Twenty illegal immigrants who were going to be released as witnesses in the case against a former kosher slaughterhouse manager will stay in custody because another manager wants them to testify at his trial.

The witnesses were being held to testify in the immigration trial of former Agriprocessors, Inc., manager Sholom Rubashkin. Rubashkin was convicted on 86 counts of financial fraud last month and immigration charges were dropped.

But Brent Beebe has been granted a motion requesting that the witnesses, who worked at the plant, be held in the U.S. to testify in his Jan. 19 trial on immigration and document fraud.

The Agriprocessors plant in Postville was the site of a massive immigration raid in May 2008. of Oakland, Calif., said in the video posted on a Web site dedicated to freeing the three. “They meant no harm to the Islamic Republic of Iran and respect your ancient and noble civilization. If they entered Iran, it was an innocent mistake.”

The families previously have pleaded for their release to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but Friday’s video was the first public outreach to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is Iran’s highest-ranking political and religious authority.

“We’re saying it’s the holidays, please be compassionate and send them home,” Shourd told The Associated Press on Thursday.