Status: 10/16/2022 03:18 am
Evin Prison in Tehran is considered one of the worst prison conditions in Iran. Political prisoners are sitting there, but also some demonstrators from the past few weeks. Now it is said to have burned there.
A fire broke out in Evin prison in the Iranian capital Tehran. This was reported by the Tehran daily “Shargh” and confirmed by the prison administration. It can be read on social networks that there were also shots and explosions in the prison.
“Several times a loud explosion could be heard from the prison,” reported a “Shagh” reporter on the messenger service Telegram. “The roads leading to Evin prison are closed. The smell of tear gas can be smelled around the prison. Ambulances and fire engines are moving towards the prison.”
A video released by the human rights organization Iran Human Rights showed flames and a cloud of smoke over Evin prison, and shots were apparently heard. “Death to the dictator” chants could be heard in the background of the video.
Report: Eight people injured
“Hooligans and rioters” started an argument with the prison guards and then set the prison’s textile warehouse on fire, the prison management said, according to the Iranian news agency Irna. The fire brigade have since extinguished the fire. Tehran’s prosecutor stressed that the incident was an internal conflict in the prison between convicted thieves. He denied any connection to the ongoing anti-system protests that have spread like wildfire across the country for four weeks.
According to an IRNA report, eight people have been injured so far, and there are said to be no deaths. The situation in the prison is under control again, according to the prison administration. It is not yet clear whether the fire was related to the nationwide protests.
US worried about prison situation
The US has expressed concern about the dramatic situation in Evin prison. “We are following the reports from Evin Prison with great urgency,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote on Twitter. “Iran has full responsibility for the safety of our unjustly detained citizens who should be released immediately.”
Human rights activists criticize the conditions
Evin Prison in northern Tehran is considered one of the worst prison conditions in Iran. Human rights groups have long criticized the conditions there. There are numerous political prisoners in the prison, but apparently also demonstrators who have been arrested in recent weeks.
Former international Hossein Mahini was reportedly held in solitary confinement in Evin prison in early October after he was arrested for expressing solidarity with the women’s insurgent movement. According to a media report, he was released from custody on bail equivalent to 30,000 euros.
Supposedly brought many students there
The Evin prison was also an issue during the protests against the political leadership in Iran. “They turned Tehran into a prison and Evin prison into a university,” apparently chanted students at Tehran’s renowned Sharif University, as can be heard in a video posted online. Many students who were arrested by the security forces during the protests were apparently taken there.