Authorities reported an Iran prison fire that killed at least four people and injured 61 others at the nation's Evin prison as gunshots and explosions ensued.
Sources who were inside the prison, which was known for housing political prisoners, said that the number of casualties was higher than what was reported. Video footage shared on social media platforms showed flames and smoke at the site, which is located in Tehran.
Iran Prison Fire
The fire also followed weeks of anti-government protests across Iran for the death of a woman over the country's strict hijab laws. Hundreds of people taking part in the demonstrations were sent to Evin prison. It was not yet known whether the situation at the jail was related to the protests.
The demonstrations first erupted last month after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. While officials said the woman died of a heart attack, her family disputed the claim, saying that she did not have any underlying health conditions and that she was killed by the country's morality police, as per BBC.
Iranian state media suggested that the events at the prison were not linked to the ongoing demonstrations, quoting an official who then blamed "criminal elements" for the fire. The governor of Tehran, speaking from inside the Evin prison, said that there was a riot in a wing of the prison that housed petty criminals.
On the other hand, Iran's Mizan News reported that the injured developed breathing difficulties due to inhaling smoke from the fire at the prison's sewing workshop. They added that four of the injured were in critical condition.
According to Reuters, the families of some of the detainees at Evin prison posted on social media platforms to call on authorities to ensure their safety. In 2018, the prison was blacklisted by the United States government for "serious human rights abuses."
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Nationwide Protests
Video taken hours after the fire showed the apparent calm that had returned to the facility, with inmates asleep in their wards. The footage also showed firefighters in the area inspecting a workshop that had damage to its roof.
A human rights activist, Atena Daemi, said that relatives of prisoners at the facility's women's section had gone to the prison for visiting hours but were denied access by authorities. Officials told the visitors that prisoners were "fine, but the phones are broken." However, Daemie tweeted that some women prisoners were able to call their families.
The husband of Iranian journalist Niloofar Hamedi, who was also the one that broke the news of Amini's hospitalization and was arrested last month, posted on Twitter that she had tried to call him on Sunday. The lawyer representing Siamak Namazi, a prisoner at Evin who was imprisoned for nearly seven years, said on Sunday that the prisoner had contacted his relatives.
Authorities said that the fire at Evin broke out after a fight between prisoners as they attempted to distance the incident from ongoing protests. On Sunday, video footage of the prisoner showed scorched walls and ceilings in a room that was the upper floor of the sewing workshop, NPR reported.
