As Protests in Iran Persist, Death Toll from Jail Fire in Tehran Rises
The fire that broke out in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on Sunday killed at least eight inmates, the judiciary said Monday, raising the official death toll a month after protests prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini.
The Islamic Republic's government has stated that the fire that broke out late Saturday was caused by "riots and clashes" between inmates. Still, human rights groups have expressed scepticism about this explanation and concern that the actual death toll could be far higher.
After reporting an initial death toll of four on Sunday due to smoke inhalation, the judiciary authority's website Mizan Online announced on Monday that four detainees from Evin prison who had been injured in the fire had died in hospital.
Video footage of the dramatic fire in Tehran, which was released to social media, showed flames lighting up the night sky and smoke billowing from the structure while gunshots and explosions could be heard coming from inside.
The Iranian government has blamed "thugs" for setting fire to a prison clothes depot and has reported fights between inmates and guards who tried to stop the fighting.
In recent weeks, hundreds of protestors have been arrested and transported to Evin Prison, which is notorious for its mistreatment of political prisoners and its housing of international inmates and thousands of others doing time on criminal offences.
The official IRNA news agency quoted a prosecutor in Tehran as saying the clashes were unrelated to the recent upheaval in the country, but Mizan said that all of the victims had been convicted of robbery.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), an Oslo-based organisation, has stated that it "rejects" the official explanation because of the "long history of suppressing facts" in the Islamic Republic.
Having "heard indications that special forces were deployed to instigate detainees and prepare the foundations for a crackdown," it demanded a UN-backed international probe into the matter.
Concerned family members and advocacy groups have reported hearing reports of tear gas deployment inside the Iranian prison.
Amini, a young woman of 22, had been in jail for four weeks after her detention for allegedly breaking Iran's severe dress code for women when the fire broke out.
The protests have grown into a substantial anti-government movement, posing one of the greatest threats to Iran's clerical leadership since the fall of the Shah in 1979.
Women holding rallies at Tehran and Shariati universities on Sunday chanted, "we are all Mahsa!", and other demonstrations continued into the night in various parts of the country.
Atena Daemi, an Iranian rights activist and former detainee of Evin, tweeted early on Sunday that she had observed multiple buses and ambulances leave the prison. She revealed that certain political detainees from Ward 8 had been sent to another facility. The families of those incarcerated in Evin reportedly gathered on Sunday to ask for updates on their loved ones, as reported by IHR.
It was reported by activists that the uncertainty was compounded when official media said 40 people had been killed on Sunday, before revising the number back to four minutes later.
Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian academic, and Siamak Namazi, an American, are both currently detained at Evin Prison. Namazi, according to his family, was just re-arrested after being temporarily released. Namazi's American lawyer, Jared Genser, assured his clients that he is safe after speaking with his loved ones.
France has stated that it is monitoring the condition of its citizens who have been "arbitrarily imprisoned" in Evin with "the greatest vigilance."
On Twitter, people who care about the welfare of Austrian prisoner Massud Mossaheb reported he was suffering from inhaling smoke and tear gas, "He can barely speak...He is in big distress ".
According to IHR, at least 108 people have been killed in the crackdown on the Amini rallies by security forces, and at least 93 more have died in separate skirmishes in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan province.
On Sunday, following Biden's backing for the protests, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accused US President Joe Biden of "inciting instability," while the chief of the Revolutionary Guards accused the West of a cultural "invasion" of Iranian schools.
Hundreds of regular protesters and dozens of civil society figures including journalists, filmmakers, and even athletes have been detained in the crackdown.
Saeid Dehghan, a prominent Iranian lawyer, tweeted that 19 lawyers who were helping to defend the prisoners had been arrested.