Four people were killed and 61 others were injured in a fire in Tehran’s Evin prison, which houses political prisoners, according to information shared by local media.
“In the fire last night in Evin prison, four prisoners died from smoke inhalation,” said Mizan, the state agency that controls some of the modules in the prison, the largest in Tehran.
The authorities assured that a prison laboratory was set on fire “after a fight between several prisoners convicted of financial crimes and robbery”.
Shots and explosions were heard in the center of the prison on Saturday night, which authorities attributed to an attempted mutiny by ordinary prisoners.
According to the official version, the common prisoners set fire to the clothing store, causing a fire and clashes between prisoners and prison officials.
The Fars newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guard, said that some prisoners “had prepared edged weapons” and that in an attempt to escape they entered a “minefield”, which caused the explosions that have been heard.
State television broadcast a video showing an apparent calm in the facilities this Sunday.
Evin prison, located in western Tehran, houses political prisoners, foreigners and journalists in an area of 40 hectares, and is denounced by human rights groups for its precarious conditions and alleged torture.
abc
