4 dead, 61 injured in fire at Iran’s Evin prison amid Mahsa Amini protests
- Prison workshop had been set on fire ‘after a fight among a number of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft’, authorities say
- Four of those injured in were in critical condition and those killed had died of smoke inhalation, according to state media
A fire at Iran’s Evin prison late on Saturday killed four detainees and injured 61, state media reported, as anti-government protests sparked by a woman’s death in police custody continued on Sunday, including at several universities.
Iranian authorities said on Saturday that a prison workshop had been set on fire “after a fight among a number of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft”. Evin holds many detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality.
Iran’s judiciary said four of those injured in Saturday’s fire were in critical condition and that those killed had died of smoke inhalation, state media reported.
Earlier state television aired video apparently showing that calm had returned to the facility.
The protests sparked by 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death while in the custody of Iran’s morality police on September 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution, and have been met with a brutal state crackdown.
Rights groups say at least 240 protesters have been killed, including 32 minors. More than 8,000 people had been arrested in 111 cities and towns, Iranian activist news agency HRANA said on Saturday.
Among the casualties have been teenage girls whose deaths have become a rallying cry for more demonstrations across the country.