A huge fire Saturday broke out at Tehran’s Evin prison housing many of Iran’s political prisoners and anti-government activists. Gunshots were heard from the area, various media reports said, as the anti-government protests across the country – sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody – entered its fifth week.
Videos of the incident circulated on various social media platforms showed flames and smoke billowing from the area. Iranian activist and journalist Masih Alinejad wrote on Twitter, “The infamous Evin prison in Tehran, Iran is on fire. Reports says (say) gunfire heard. The lives if prisoners are in danger. Family members of prisoners are shocked and horrified.”
In a brief clip of the incident, the journalist shared on her handle, pops of what appeared to be gunfire could be heard as flames and a plume of smoke engulfed the night sky.
The facility is located in the foothills at the northern edge of the Iranian capital and has been at the centre of detention for many of the Mahsa Amini protesters in the past few weeks. Infamous for the ill-treatment of political prisoners, the prison was blacklisted by the US government in 2018 for “serious human rights abuses”.
Also read | Iran’s supreme leader calls anti-hijab protests ‘scattered riots’
Per local media, clashes had broken out between prisoners and jail personnel, following which the prisoners set fire to a warehouse full of prison uniforms, causing the blaze.
“The situation is currently completely under control,” foreign news agencies reported, citing the state-run IRNA.
According to an Iranian judiciary statement, a prison workshop was set on fire “after a fight among a number of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft”.
Tehran’s fire department said the cause of the incident was under investigation.
At least eight people were reportedly injured in the unrest; the flames have now been doused.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said that “peace” had returned to the prison and dismissed reports that the unrest was related to the anti-government protests that have gripped the country.
Iranians have been protesting for weeks over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, who died while being held for “inappropriate attire”. The protests – hardly showing signs of dying down despite a major crackdown by the government – have only spread, in a major challenge to the Islamic Republic. Some people have also called for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
(With inputs from Reuters, AFP, AP)
