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A occurrence that broke retired astatine Tehran’s Elvin prison, wherever galore of Iran’s governmental and dual-national detainees are held, has been extinguished, according to authorities media, with online videos and section media reporting gunshots.
State quality bureau IRNA said 8 radical were injured successful Saturday’s blaze, arsenic nationwide protests implicit the death successful detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian pistillate entered a 5th week.
The protests person posed 1 of the astir serious challenges to the Iranian authorities since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations spreading crossed the state and immoderate radical chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
An Iranian judiciary connection said a situation store was acceptable connected occurrence “after a combat among a fig of prisoners convicted of fiscal crimes and theft”. Tehran’s occurrence section told authorities media the origin of the incidental was nether investigation.
“Roads starring to Evin situation person been closed to traffic. There are tons of ambulances here,” said a witnesser contacted by the Reuters quality agency.
Another witnesser said families of prisoners had gathered successful beforehand of the main situation entrance. “I tin spot occurrence and smoke. Lots of peculiar forces,” the witnesser said.
A information authoritative said calm had been restored astatine the prison, portion IRNA reported that “the concern is presently wholly nether control”. But the archetypal witnesser told Reuters that ambulance sirens could beryllium heard and fume inactive roseate implicit the prison.
از زندان اوین ۲۳ مهر صدای تیراندازی شنیده و دود آتش دیده میشود.#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/vrei5cu9eM
— +۱۵۰۰تصویر (@1500tasvir) October 15, 2022
Early connected Sunday, IRNA carried a video it said showed parts of the situation damaged by fire. Firefighters were seen dousing the debris with water, seemingly to forestall the blaze from reigniting.
The situation mostly holds detainees facing information charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. It has agelong been criticised by Western rights groups and was blacklisted by the United States authorities successful 2018 for “serious quality rights abuses”.
‘Numb with worry’
The detainees see French-Iranian world Fariba Adelkhah and US national Siamak Namazi, whose household said helium was taken backmost into custody this week aft a impermanent release.
Reacting to reports of the fire, Namazi’s household said successful a connection to the AFP quality bureau shared by their lawyer that they were “deeply concerned” and had not heard from him.
They urged Iran’s authorities to assistance him “immediate” means to interaction his household and to springiness him a furlough “as helium intelligibly isn’t harmless successful Evin Prison”.
The sister of different US national held astatine Evin, businessman Emad Shargi, said his household was “numb with worry” successful a Twitter post.
An unnamed Iranian authoritative told the Tasnim quality bureau that nary of the governmental prisoners was progressive successful Saturday’s unrest.
“No information captive was progressive successful today’s clash betwixt prisoners, and fundamentally the ward for information prisoners is abstracted and acold from the wards for thieves and those convicted of fiscal crimes,” the authoritative was quoted arsenic saying.
Protests reported adjacent #Evin Prison successful Tehran aft the situation became enflamed with sounds of gunshots and explosions. #Mahsa_Amini
Context: https://t.co/kxNFKdyq79#مهسا_امینی#زندان_اوین pic.twitter.com/9XburD0Tf8
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) October 15, 2022
Asked astir the situation fire, US President Joe Biden told reporters during a run travel to Portland, Oregon: “The Iranian authorities is truthful oppressive.”
He said helium was amazed by “the courageousness of radical and women taking [to] the street” successful the caller protests and had tremendous respect for them. “It’s been truly amazing,” helium added. “They’re not a bully group, successful the government.”
US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price tweeted, “we are pursuing reports from Evin Prison with urgency. We are successful interaction with the Swiss arsenic our protecting power. Iran is afloat liable for the information of our wrongfully detained citizens, who should beryllium released immediately.”
Human Rights Watch has accused authorities astatine the situation of utilizing threats of torture and indefinite imprisonment, arsenic good arsenic lengthy interrogations and denial of aesculapian attraction for detainees.
Protests erupted aft the September 16 decease of Amini, who was arrested by Iran’s morality constabulary for wearing an improper hijab. She died successful custody. A coroner’s study said she did not endure blows to the caput oregon captious organs.
Amini’s household person refuted the authoritative accounts that attributed the 22-year-old’s decease to conditions arising aft a encephalon tumour country astatine property eight.
Although the unrest does not look adjacent to toppling the government, the protests person widened into strikes that person closed shops and businesses, touched the captious vigor assemblage and inspired brazen acts of dissent against Iran’s spiritual rule.
On Saturday, protesters crossed Iran chanted successful the streets and successful universities against the country’s spiritual leaders.
A video posted by the Norway-based organisation Iran Human Rights purported to amusement protests successful the northeastern metropolis of Mashhad, Iran’s second-most populous city, with demonstrators chanting: “Clerics, get lost,” and drivers honking their horns.
Videos posted by the radical showed a onslaught by shopkeepers successful the northwestern Kurdish metropolis of Saqez – Amini’s hometown. Another video connected societal media showed pistillate precocious schoolhouse students chanting: “Woman, Life, Freedom,” connected the streets of Sanandaj, the superior of Kurdistan province.
The videos could not beryllium verified immediately.
The Iranian activistic quality bureau HRANA said online that 240 protesters had been killed successful the unrest, including 32 minors. It said 26 members of the information forces were killed, and astir 8,000 radical had been arrested successful protests successful 111 cities and towns and immoderate 73 universities.
But the authoritative decease toll is overmuch little than estimated by rights groups and protesters.
Among the casualties person been teenage girls whose deaths person go a rallying outcry for much demonstrations demanding the downfall of Iran’s government.
Protesters called connected Saturday for demonstrations successful the northwestern metropolis of Ardabil implicit the decease of Asra Panahi, a teen from the Azeri taste number who activists alleged was beaten to decease by information forces.
Officials denied the study and quality agencies adjacent to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps quoted her uncle arsenic saying the precocious schoolhouse pupil had died of a bosom problem.
English (US)