Evin Prison has a sinister reputation in Iran, notorious for the mistreatment of political prisoners. A fire and clashes occurred in this penitentiary establishment in Tehran, Saturday evening, October 15, at the end of a new day of demonstrations against power. “At the moment, the situation is completely under control and calm has returned to the prison,” said a senior security official, quoted by the official Irna agency, attributing the start of fire to “thugs”. According to a firefighter on site, still quoted by Irna, “Eight people were injured in the fire.”
Footage shared on Twitter by the Oslo-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) showed huge flames and thick smoke billowing from the prison. While some hundreds of people arrested during the protest movement would have been sent there, a video posted by the online media 1500tasvir, which lists human rights violations, also made it possible to hear in the background ofare cries of “Death to the dictator”: one of the most chanted slogans in the demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini a month ago.
Quoting a Tehran prosecutor, the official Irna news agency clarified that the clashes had “nothing to do with the recent unrest in the country”.
Evin prison also holds foreigners or dual nationals such as Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah and American Siamak Namazi, who was reincarcerated this week after a temporary release, according to his family. The latter, via her lawyer, told AFP that she was “deeply concerned” and that she had no news of him. The sister of another US citizen detained in Evin, businessman Emad Shargi, tweeted that her family was just as much “worried to death”.
Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was detained in Evin for most of her 800 days in Iran, said relatives of female political prisoners there had assured her that “All women within the Evin political prisoner ward are safe and unharmed.”
“Iran bears full responsibility for the safety of our wrongfully detained citizens, who must be released immediately.”warned on Twitter Ned Price, spokesman for the diplomacy of the United States, adding that Washington followed the development of the incident “with urgency”.
The famous Iranian director Jafar Panahi, winner of several international awards, and the reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh are also believed to be in this prison establishment.