Death Toll After Fire in Iran's Evin Prison Rises

According to a statement from Iran's judiciary, the number of fatalities from a fire at the infamous Evin prison in the country increased from four to eight. Officials reported numerous other injuries following the fire at the Tehran jail on Saturday night. The Evin prison housed hundreds of protesters involved in the nation's anti-government demonstrations over the past month. However, it is unclear whether the jail event was related to the protests. According to the judiciary, a dispute between inmates caused the fire to start in a prison workplace. State television reported that the Chief of Tehran's prisons stated the fire as a "premeditated" escape attempt thwarted by security forces. The facility had not been set on fire, a witness inside the prison told BBC Persian. Meanwhile, protests persisted into the night, even in Tehran neighborhoods. In addition, w can hear the phrase "Death to the dictator" (a reference to Iran's supreme leader) and other cries in the background of a video taken in the Narmak neighborhood in the northeast of the country. Furthermore, other protests took place in western Tehran's Ekbatan, where a mob of people yelled anti-government slogans and a video showed people clapping as a woman burned her headscarf on a protester-lit bonfire. Moreover, the protests stemmed from the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman, 22, at the hands of the morality police for not wearing a hijab or headscarf. They swiftly swept throughout the nation, posing the most serious challenge to the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979. More details In an effort to quell the protesters, Iranian security forces are using force, including live fire, beatings, and mass arrests. Human rights organizations estimate that at least 200 individuals died, although the actual number is likely significantly higher. And while authorities interfered with social media platforms and the internet, making it impossible to know what is happening outside of Iran, Iranians continue to broadcast videos of incidents and protests. In videos posted online on Saturday night, we can see flames and smoke at the Evin prison amid the sound of gunfire and explosions. Tehran's governor reported on state TV that a riot broke out in the prison's wing housing minor offenders while speaking from inside the facility. In addition, pictures depicted the fire completely destroying the wing. Furthermore, due to the fact that the authorities release a prominent political prisoner before the fire started, several journalists accused them of "setting the prison ablaze purposefully" on social media. According to his brother, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of the late former president of Iran Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, received "early temporary release." On another note, in one YouTube video, we can hear an explosion after what seemed to be things being fired into the prison from outside its walls. Also, Read- Death Toll Increases to 76 as Protests in Iran Escalates The relatives of a political prisoner informed BBC Persian that the officials permitted neither their families nor their attorneys to be close to the jail and closed the roads. Later on, though, some detainees were able to contact their loved ones and let them know they were safe. Lastly, the institution has long been under fire from Western human rights organizations. In addition, Human Rights Watch has charged the Iran prison administrators with utilizing torture threats and indefinite detention as well as protracted interrogations and denying inmates medical care.