48 hours have passed, and families are still unaware of the fate of their loved ones in Tehran’s Evin Prison. On Saturday evening, a fire, explosions, and heavy gunfire broke out inside the prison complex, according to witnesses andvideoCome on social media. Evin holds thousands of prisoners, including the bulk of human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and Iranians with second nationalities, who should not have been imprisoned in the first place.
The cause of the fire in Evin is still a mystery, but according to “Human Rights Activists News Agency” (Hrana), most of the clashes and violence took place near Ward 7, then sometime during the night security forces from outside the prison joined the prison guards to attack the prisoners. The agency continued that security forces armed with shotguns and live ammunition arrested the alleged protesters first and moved the rest out into the open. She forced the prisoners to stand outside, then beat them following making them take off their clothes and lie on their stomachs. According to the agency, injured Approximately three political prisoners were wounded by birdshot. It is not clear the full number of those injured or arrested, and transferred to different sections of the prison.
Several political prisoners detained in different parts of the prison and who were able to contact their families reported being exposed to tear gas. While dozens of activists and political prisoners made brief phone calls to their families, others remain incommunicado, especially those held incommunicado and in Ward 8, who were also subjected to violence.
The government media center of the judiciary reported that the fire broke out in a workshop due to “clashes between prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft.” According to Location Eight prisoners died of suffocation and 61 others were injured. as reported “Fars News Agency“, close to the Iranian intelligence services, said that the explosions came as a result of the escape of prisoners, then quickly denied the news.
The Iranian authorities have a disgraceful record of impunity, and their ongoing harsh crackdown on protesters and activists should raise further concern regarding the violence used once morest detainees in Evin. The authorities are responsible for the safety and security of everyone behind bars. An independent investigation is urgently needed to shed light on what happened in Evin and the potentially serious violations of the government’s track record, but the authorities should now inform families immediately of the health of their loved ones.
