• A large fire starts amid fighting at the Evin prison in Tehran.
• It houses political and dual-national detainees from Iran.
• Eight people were reportedly hurt in the violence.

According to officials and witnesses, a large fire has started amid fighting at the Evin prison in Tehran, which houses numerous political and dual-national detainees from Iran.

Eight people were reportedly hurt in the violence on Saturday, which broke out following nearly a month of demonstrations around Iran over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman.

With rallies taking place all throughout the nation and some people calling for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the protests have presented one of the most significant threats to the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution.

According to a statement from the Iranian judiciary, a prison factory was set on fire “after a struggle among several detainees found guilty of financial crimes and theft.” The reason for the event is being investigated, according to Tehran’s fire department, which told state media.

“Traffic lanes leading to the Evin prison have been shut off. Ambulances are plentiful here, according to a witness who spoke with the Reuters news agency. We can still hear gunfire, though.

Another witness claimed that in front of the main jail door, families of inmates had gathered. “Fire and smoke are seen. Many special forces, according to the witness.

At the prison, according to a security officer, tranquility has returned. According to IRNA, “the situation is currently entirely under control.” However, the first witness informed Reuters that smoke was still rising over the prison and that an ambulance siren could be heard.

The witness reported hearing chants of “Death to Khamenei” coming from surrounding buildings.

IRNA published a video early on Sunday that it said showed jail buildings damaged by fire. Firefighters were seen spraying water on the debris, allegedly to stop the fire from rekindling.

Detainees on security-related offenses, including dual-national Iranians, are the majority of those housed at the facility. Western rights organizations have long criticized it, and the US government placed it on a sanctions list in 2018 due to “serious human rights abuses.”

Among those held are US citizen Siamak Namazi and French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, who according to his family was temporarily released this week before being hauled back into custody.

In response to news of the fire, Namazi’s family expressed their “great concern” and lack of communication with him in a statement to the AFP news agency that was also provided by their attorney.

They begged the Iranian government to provide him “urgent” access to his family and a leave of absence since “he plainly isn’t secure in Evin Prison.”

The sister of businessman Emad Shargi, a second US citizen detained at Evin, wrote on Twitter that his family was “numb with dread.”

According to an unidentified Iranian official, none of the political prisoners was part of the unrest on Saturday.

The official was reported as claiming that “no security prisoner was involved in today’s fight amongst inmates, and fundamentally the ward for security prisoners is separate and far from the wards for thieves and those convicted of financial crimes.”

When asked about the prison fire during a campaign stop in Portland, Oregon, US President Joe Biden said to reporters: “The Iranian government is so oppressive.”

He expressed shock and admiration for “the courage of individuals and women taking [to] the street” in the most recent protests. It has truly been great, he continued. “The government is not a decent group,”

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, tweeted that “we are urgently monitoring news from Evin Prison. As our defenders, the Swiss are in touch with us. Iran is entirely responsible for the security of our compatriots who have been unfairly detained and who should be quickly released.

Human Rights Watch has accused the prison’s administrators of subjecting inmates to protracted interrogations, torture threats, and indefinite detention in addition to denying them access to medical care.

The disturbance at Evin jail came after nearly a month of demonstrations across Iran following the death on September 16 of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was being detained for “inappropriate dress.”

Although it doesn’t seem like the unrest is near to overthrowing the government, it has expanded into strikes that have shut down shops and companies, affected the country’s crucial energy sector, and sparked blatant acts of disobedience against Iran’s religious leadership.

On Saturday, demonstrators yelled anti-clerical slogans on campuses and on the streets of Iran.

On Saturday, demonstrations were scheduled for in the northwest city of Ardabil in response to the passing of Asra Panahi, a teenage member of the Azeri ethnic minority who activists claimed was murdered by security personnel.

Her uncle, according to news organizations sympathetic to the Revolutionary Guards, said the high school student had died of a heart condition. Officials refuted the claim.

Protests reported near #Evin Prison in Tehran after the prison became enflamed with sounds of gunshots and explosions. #Mahsa_Amini

Context: https://www.bolnews.com/world/2022/10/mahsa-amini-protests-continue-there-is-a-large-fire-in-irans-evin-prison/amp/#مهسا_امینی#زندان_اوین pic.twitter.com/9XburD0Tf8

— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) October 15, 2022

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