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BEIRUT — A monolithic occurrence broke retired Saturday nighttime successful Iran’s notorious Evin prison, which holds hundreds of dissidents and has detained hundreds much during the past period of thoroughfare protests.
Iran’s authorities quality bureau IRNA reported that 8 radical were injured successful the occurrence and that it was nether power by Sunday morning, portion citing officials who insisted determination was no nexus betwixt the blaze and the caller demonstrations. Later connected Sunday, Mizan, the judiciary channel, said 4 prisoners from the fiscal crimes ward had died of asphyxiation from fume successful Ward 7 and that 61 were injured. Ten were taken to the hospital, of whom 4 were successful dire condition, Mizan reported.
Videos shared connected societal media showed ample plumes of fume rising from the facility, which sits astatine the ft of the Alborz Mountains successful the capital, Tehran. The dependable of automatic gunfire could beryllium heard successful immoderate of the videos, portion others showed a adjacent road filled with cars unleashing an unrelenting thrum of horns, seemingly successful protest.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars and Tasnim quality agencies reported that the unrest began erstwhile prisoners convicted of fiscal crimes successful 2 sections, Wards 6 and 7, got into an altercation, starring different prisoners to instrumentality vantage of the disarray and acceptable occurrence to a store and a warehouse afloat of clothes.
Fars reported that a fig of prisoners had prepared weapons to instrumentality connected guards, indicating that the occurrence was planned. The bureau said that successful the midst of the chaos, immoderate prisoners attempted to escape, entering a minefield northbound of the prison, which led to explosions.
Tasnim aired footage of 1 of its reporters touring the prison, purportedly aft the occurrence had breached out, to beryllium that bid had been restored. He pauses successful beforehand of a timepiece and points astatine the time, 2:06, presumably successful the morning, arsenic evident impervious that the flames were contained not agelong aft they started.
Evin has been the tract of immoderate of the worst abuses of the Islamic Republic, with galore prisoners detailing extended intelligence and carnal torture inside. At slightest 1 helping of the situation is controlled by the quality subdivision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and different helping is tally by the Intelligence Ministry.
Families of inmates extracurricular the situation were tear-gassed earlier successful the time Saturday, and roads heading determination were blocked by nightfall, according to the Center for Human Rights successful Iran, a New York-based advocacy group. An ambulance and autobus were sent to Evin to transportation wounded prisoners to a hospital, the radical reported.
Among the prisoners astatine Evin are Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American businessman who was arrested successful 2015, arsenic good arsenic journalists and governmental prisoners.
“We are pursuing reports from Evin Prison with urgency,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price tweeted Saturday. “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.”
Videos posted online showed radical successful neighborhoods astir Evin chanting “Death to the dictator,” portion others showed riot constabulary connected motorcycles heading to the prison.
On Sunday, Namazi’s lawyer Jared Genser tweeted that Namazi was harmless and has contacted his family. After the occurrence broke out, Genser had connected Saturday appealed to President Biden to “bring American hostages home.”
Genser besides said that Namazi was placed successful solitary confinement aft riots, purportedly “for his ain safety.” For Namazi to beryllium “back w/the #IRGC successful solitary is simply a surviving nightmare,” Genser added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “He spent 2 years being tortured there.”
The authorities has cracked down against protesters since demonstrations swept the state astir a period ago. Internet successful the portion has been severely disrupted successful the past 2 weeks, on with the cellular network, leaving galore successful the acheronian and radical overseas scrambling to portion unneurotic however unit is unfolding.
The protests were sparked by the decease of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, successful the custody of the “morality police” connected Sept. 16. The Iranian government’s effect was speedy and deadly: An bid issued by the country’s highest subject assemblage connected Sept. 21 gave directions to “severely face troublemakers and anti-revolutionaries,” according to a leaked papers obtained by Amnesty International and reviewed by The Washington Post.
Dehghanpisheh reported from Phoenix.
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