Protest and large fire at Iran's Evin prison, several large explosions and gunshots reported

RT
Sat, 15 Oct 2022 19:58 UTC

A screenshot shows Tehran's Evin prison burning on October 15, 2022

Evin Prison in the Iranian capital Tehran caught fire on Saturday night, with video footage showing smoke and flames rising from the detention center. The blaze broke out amid widespread anti-government protests, which have been ongoing for several weeks.

Videos shared on social media showed the prison compound burning, as an alarm droned and what sounded like gunshots rang out. Several loud explosions were heard as the prison burned.

Iran's IRNA news agency said that the fire broke out following a brawl between inmates and guards, Al Arabiya reported. However, the Iranian government has not yet commented on the incident or released any information on casualties or damage to the facility.

"Families of prisoners have gathered in front of the main door of Evin prison," a witness told Reuters. "I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces. Ambulances are here too."

Evin is believed to house political prisoners, and has long been condemned by Western governments and NGOs. Washington blacklisted the jail in 2018 for "serious human rights abuses," and a number of dual nationals are believed to be serving sentences there. One of these, an Iranian-American held on espionage charges, was returned to Evin on Wednesday after a brief furlough, Reuters reported, citing the man's lawyer.

The fire broke out as anti-government protests in Iran have been ongoing for more than three weeks. The protests began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran, and have since spiraled into nationwide riots and calls for the downfall of the Islamic Republic's hardline government.

Iranian authorities have accused foreign governments, including the US and Israel, of stoking the unrest.

Comment: Iranian state international broadcaster PressTV reports that 'calm has been restored' to the prison:

[...]

The reports said 61 people were injured in the incident. It added that 4 detainees convicted of financial crimes died last night "due to smoke inhalation."

Foreign-backed anti-Iran media outlets had swiftly linked the fire in Tehran's Evin Prison to protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent, who fainted at a police station after her arrest and died days later at the hospital in the capital last month.

Iranian people in several cities held protests over the issue but some extremist elements derailed the protests and incited violence against security forces, wreaking havoc and setting fire to public properties.

Immediately after Amini's death, Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi ordered a thorough investigation into the case.

An official report published last Friday said her death had been caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.

More on Mahsa's death, including footage of her arrest that appears to shows her fainting, here: Iranian police claim woman arrested over hijab died of heart attack in custody - incident sparked protests

This comes on the heels of another huge fire reported at Ehram park in Tehran.