Protests: Fire after conflict in notorious prison in Tehran

protests
Fire following conflict at notorious Tehran prison

View of the metropolis from the “roof of Tehran” (Bam-e Tehran). photo

© Arne Bänsch/dpa

In the north of the Iranian capital Tehran, a conflict is escalating in the notorious Ewin prison. The situation should be brought under control quickly. The background is initially unclear.

A conflict has caught fire in the notorious Ewin prison in the Iranian capital Tehran. The state news agency IRNA initially reported an altercation between “hooligans and rioters” and prison guards.

The institution’s textile warehouse had been set on fire, it said. However, the situation was brought under control after a short time. The fire brigade have since extinguished the fire. Exactly what happened in the prison has not been independently verified.

The exact background remained open at first. Tehran’s prosecutor denied any connection to the ongoing anti-system protests that have spread like wildfire across the country for four weeks. He stressed that Saturday’s incident was an internal conflict in the prison between convicted thieves.

Reports of explosions and gunfire

A reporter from the reform-oriented Iranian daily Shargh said he heard several loud explosions at the scene. Several fire engines rushed to the prison in the north of the capital to fight the flames. The streets around the detention center have been cordoned off. Horn concerts were also heard, which are always a sign of solidarity with the demonstrations during the nationwide protests.

There was also talk of shots being fired in the detention center on social media. Just a few days ago, a mutiny broke out in a prison in northern Iran, in which several prisoners lost their lives. According to the state news agency IRNA, eight people have been injured in the incident in Tehran.

In the Ewin prison in northern Tehran there are not only numerous political prisoners, but also demonstrators who have been imprisoned there because of their participation in the system-critical protests of the past four weeks. Dual nationals who have another citizenship in addition to Iranian citizenship are also imprisoned in Ewin. Among them are at least two dual German nationals.

dpa

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