The number of fatalities at Iran’s notorious Evin prison has increased from four to eight, according to a statement from Iran’s court.
Officials reported that scores more were hurt in the Saturday night fire at the Tehran jail.
Hundreds of participants in the antigovernment demonstrations that have swept the nation over the past month have been transported to Evin prison.
It is unclear whether the jail event was related to the protests.
According to the judiciary, the fire started in a prison workshop following a brawl between inmates. State television reported that it was a “premeditated” escape attempt, which the director of prisons in Tehran stated was thwarted by security forces.
However, a prison witness stated that inmates had not set fire to the site.
Throughout the night, protests persisted, including in the neighborhoods of Tehran.
In the dark, chanting of “Death to the tyrant” – a reference to Iran’s supreme leader – can be heard on footage from the northeastern district of Narmak.
Elsewhere, in Ekbatan, in western Tehran, a mass of protestors yelled anti-government slogans, and video footage showed a crowd clapping as a woman burned her headscarf on bonfire lit by protesters.
In response to the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police detention, protests started one month ago. Her family disputes the official cause of death, claiming that she was beaten by the morality police.
The rallies swiftly extended across the country, posing the Islamic Republic’s gravest challenge since its founding in 1979.
To quell the protesters, Iranian security forces have resorted to violence, including live fire, beatings, and mass arrests. According to human rights organizations, at least 200 individuals have been slain, although the actual number is estimated to be significantly higher.
The authorities have blocked the internet and social media platforms, making it difficult for the outside world to know what is occurring.
However, Iranians continue to broadcast videos of rallies and incidents.
Saturday night, online videos depicted flames and smoke at the Evin prison amid the sounds of gunfire and explosions.
From within the prison, Tehran’s governor reported to state television that there was a riot in a wing of the facility holding minor offenders. Images revealed that the fire destroyed the wing.
Some journalists on social media accused the authorities of “deliberately setting fire to the prison” because a prominent political prisoner was released before the blaze.
According to his brother, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of Iran’s late former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was granted “early temporary release.”
One online video appeared to show things being fired from outside the prison’s perimeter inside the facility, followed by the sound of an explosion.
Families and attorneys of inmates were not permitted near the prison, and roads were blocked, according to the family of a political prisoner.
However, several detainees were eventually able to contact their families to let them know they were safe.
Human rights organizations in the West have long criticized the institution. Human Rights Watch has accused jail authorities of threatening detainees with torture and extended imprisonment, conducting lengthy interrogations, and denying them medical care.
