A fire at a political prison in Tehran, Iran, killed four people and injured 61 on Saturday (15).
The fire broke out at Evin Prison, which holds many political and dual state prisoners. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots.
The fire comes amid an unprecedented wave of protests that broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22yearold Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for “inappropriate use” of the Islamic headscarf, which is mandatory for women in the country.
The population even demonstrated against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
According to a statement from the country’s judiciary, a workshop in the prison was set on fire “following a brawl between several inmates convicted of financial crimes and theft.” Tehran’s fire department told state media that the cause of the incident was under investigation.
“The roads leading to Evin Prison have been closed to traffic. There are many ambulances here,” a witness told Portal news agency. “Nevertheless, we can hear shots.”
Another witness said that families of prisoners gathered in front of the prison’s main entrance. “I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces,” he said.
A security official said calm had returned to the prison, but one of the witnesses claimed that ambulance sirens could still be heard and smoke still hung over the prison. “People from nearby buildings are singing ‘Death to Khamenei’ from their windows,” he said.
The prison mainly holds detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. Human Rights Watch alleges that prison authorities threatened them with torture and indefinite detention, in addition to lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care to detainees.
“No security prisoners [político] was involved in today’s confrontation between prisoners and basically the security detainees wing is separate and separate from the prisons for thieves and those convicted of financial crimes,” an unnamed official told the Tasnim news agency.