Four inmates died in a fire that broke out overnight at Evin Prison in the Iranian capital, Iranian officials say.
“Four inmates died from smoke inhalation and 61 were injured,” the judicial authority’s website Mizan Online reports, adding that four of the injured are in “serious condition”.
At least 70 prisoners were rescued. Of the 61 injured, 51 have already been discharged and the others remain in hospital.
Human rights groups expressed concern for the detainees after shots and explosions were heard during the blaze.
The fire – attributed to “riots and clashes” and subsequently brought under control – came at a time when Iran is experiencing fierce protests over the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini after he was detained by customs police in Tehran for abuse. of the Islamic veil, obligatory for women.
According to a security source, several inmates set fire to the clothing store, causing a fire and clashes between inmates and staff at Evin Prison, which also holds political prisoners.
Famous for its mistreatment of political prisoners, Evin Prison also holds foreign detainees and thousands of people facing criminal charges. Hundreds of people arrested during the recent demonstrations were sent to this prison.
“The lives of all political prisoners and common criminals (in Evin) are in danger,” the Oslo-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) warned overnight.
The group says authorities have closed roads to the prison in an effort to stop protests outside the prison.
Some went on foot, and screams of “Death to the dictator” can be heard in videos posted on social media.
Iranian human rights activist Atena Daemi, a long-time prisoner of Evin, wrote on Twitter that several buses and ambulances were leaving the prison in the early hours of Sunday.
از زندانیان بند ۸ زندان اوین به زندان فشافویه #مهسا_امینی
— Athena Daemi (@AtenaDaemi) October 16, 2022
‘Fully responsible’
According to a source at Iran’s Judiciary Media Center, quoted by the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim, the four dead had been convicted of theft.
Evin Prison holds foreign prisoners, including Franco-Iranian Fariba Adelkhah and US citizen Siamak Namazi. Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was held in Evin for about 800 days, told AFP she had heard all political prisoners were safe.
More sanctions to come
Human rights groups reported nightly protests in Tehran in solidarity with Evin’s detainees.
“Guns, tanks, fireworks; the mullahs must go,” shouted women without hijabs at the Shariati Vocational and Technical School in Tehran, in a video circulating on social media.
day 27
“All those years of crimes!!! Death to this state”
Shariati Technical and Professional College
College in Tehran, Iran#FreeIran2022#MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #IranRevolution2022 #onIran#WomanLifeFreedom#NikaShakarami#Sarina_Esmaeilzadeh pic.twitter.com/msnsRwi7ZK— Azadeh-Free, PhD (@zamisa54) October 15, 2022
Protesters threw projectiles at security forces in the city of Hamedan, west of Tehran, and protesters were also seen in the northwestern city of Ardabil.
Videos from #Ardabil shows that women today stand up bravely against security forces
A student was killed in a sect attack on a high school yesterday.
She died of internal bleeding caused by violent blows #MahsaAmini
– Sima Sabet | ثابت (@Sima_Sabet) October 15, 2022
At least 108 people were killed in the Amini protests and at least 93 more were killed in separate clashes in Zahedan, Sistan-Balukistan province, according to the IHR.
The European Union agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran on Monday.
Source: DN
