A month of protests in Iran: fire at Tehran's Evin prison; The crowd marched towards the jail, chanting slogans against Khomeini
A month of protests in Iran: fire at Tehran's Evin prison; The crowd marched towards the jail, chanting slogans against Khomeini
A fire broke out at Evin prison in the capital of Iran, Tehran, at around 10 pm on Saturday. The sound of firing was also heard here during the fire. This jail mostly houses political prisoners. The United States has blacklisted this prison due to atrocities on political prisoners.
People were walking towards the jail
After receiving the news of the fire, a large number of demonstrators marched towards the jail. Videos released by Iranian human rights groups showed a large number of vehicles driving towards the prison.
A fire broke out in a part of the jail
According to Iranian journalists, the families of those imprisoned are in tension after the news of the fire. A brawl broke out between the guard and some of the inmates.
A gunshot was heard
Iranian-born analyst Karim Sadjadpour tweeted that slogans against Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini were also being chanted near the prison.
Sadjadpur further said that I used to live near this jail. A while ago I spoke with a friend there.
Ajin Shekhi, associated with the human rights group Hangv, told Bhaskar, “Current events are changing rapidly. Full details are not yet available. What is alarming is that most of these prisons house political prisoners. Gunshots were heard here too."
More than 200 people have died in the protests so far
Protests have been going on in Iran since the police killing of 22-year-old Kurdish girl Mahsha Amini. Over 200 protesters have been killed and over 1100 injured so far in the month-long protests.
Human rights organization Hangau has confirmed the identities of 170 people killed in the protests. However, the organization says the death toll could be much higher because it has become very difficult to obtain and share information in Iran at this time.
10 thousand demonstrators have also been arrested. According to reports by human rights groups, a large number of protesters have been imprisoned in this prison.