Fire, gunshots at Tehran jail holding political prisoners, dual nationals

A fireplace broke out on Saturday in Tehran’s Evin prison, where lots of Iran’s political and dual-national detainees are held, and witnesses reported hearing gunfire.

State news agency IRNA said eight people were injured within the unrest, which erupted after nearly a month of protests across Iran over the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman.

The protests have posed some of the serious challenges to the Islamic Republic for the reason that 1979 revolution, with demonstrations spreading across the country and a few people chanting for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

An Iranian judiciary statement said a jail workshop was set on fire “after a fight amongst a variety of prisoners convicted of economic crimes and theft”. Tehran’s fire department told state media the reason behind the incident was under investigation.

The prison, positioned within the foothills on the northern fringe of the Iranian capital, holds criminal convicts in addition to political detainees.

“Roads resulting in Evin prison have been closed to traffic. There are a number of ambulances here,” said a witness contacted by Reuters. “Still, we will hear gunshots.”

One other witness said families of prisoners had gathered in front of the essential prison entrance. “I can see fire and smoke. A number of special forces,” the witness said.

A security official said calm had been restored on the prison, but the primary witness said ambulance sirens might be heard and smoke still rose over the prison.

“People from nearby buildings are chanting ‘Death to Khamenei’ from their windows,” the witness said.

Early on Sunday, IRNA carried a video it said showed prison areas damaged by fire. Firemen were seen dousing the debris with water, apparently to forestall the blaze from re-igniting.

The prison mostly holds detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. It has long been criticised by Western rights groups and was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2018 for “serious human rights abuses”.

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American imprisoned for nearly seven years on espionage-related charges rejected by Washington as baseless, returned to Evin on Wednesday after being granted a transient furlough, his lawyer said.

Other U.S. residents held in Evin include environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who also has British nationality, and businessman Emad Shargi, in accordance with human rights lawyer Saeid Dehghan.

He added that several other dual nationals are held at Evin, including French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah and Iranian-Swedish Ahmadreza Djalali, a disaster medicine doctor.

Asked in regards to the prison fire, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters during a campaign trip to Portland, Oregon: “The Iranian government is so oppressive.”

He said he was surprised by “the courage of individuals and ladies taking (to) the road” within the recent protests and had enormous respect for them. “It has been really amazing,” he added. “They don’t seem to be group, in the federal government.”

U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price tweeted, “we’re following reports from Evin Prison with urgency. We’re in touch with the Swiss as our protecting power. Iran is fully answerable for the security of our wrongfully detained residents, who needs to be released immediately.”

Human Rights Watch has accused authorities on the prison of using threats of torture and of indefinite imprisonment, in addition to lengthy interrogations and denial of medical look after detainees.

“No security (political) prisoner was involved in today’s clash between prisoners, and principally the ward for security prisoners is separate and removed from the wards for thieves and people convicted of economic crimes,” an unnamed official told the Tasnim news agency.

The unrest at Evin prison occurred after nearly a month of protests across Iran since Amini – a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region – died on Sept. 16 while being held for “inappropriate attire”.

Although the unrest doesn’t appear near toppling the system, the protests have widened into strikes which have closed shops and businesses, touched the vital energy sector and inspired brazen acts of dissent against Iran’s religious rule.

On Saturday protesters across Iran chanted within the streets and in universities against the country’s clerical leaders.

A video posted by the Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights purported to point out protests within the northeastern city of Mashhad, Iran’s second-most populous city, with demonstrators chanting “Clerics wander away” and drivers honking their horns.

Videos posted by the group showed a strike by shopkeepers within the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez – Amini’s home town. One other video on social media showed female highschool students chanting “Woman, Life, Freedom” on the streets of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province.

Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the videos. Phone and web services in Iran have been often disrupted during the last month and web watchdog NetBlocks reported “a recent major disruption” shortly before Saturday’s protests began.

The Iranian activist news agency HRANA said in a posting online that 240 protesters had been killed within the unrest, including 32 minors. It said 26 members of the safety forces were killed and nearly 8,000 people had been arrested in protests in 111 cities and towns and a few 73 universities.

Among the many casualties have been teenage girls whose deaths have grow to be a rallying cry for more demonstrations demanding the downfall of the Islamic Republic.

Protesters called on Saturday for demonstrations within the northwestern city of Ardabil over the death of Asra Panahi, a teen from the Azeri ethnic minority who activists alleged was beaten to death by security forces.

Officials denied the report and news agencies near the Revolutionary Guards quoted her uncle as saying the highschool student had died of a heart problem.