Eight people were injured in a fire in Iran’s notoriously brutal Evin prison, state media reports

CNN
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At least eight people were injured in a fire in Evin Prison, north of Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported. A large, dark plume of smoke was seen billowing near the prison in multiple videos on social media on Saturday night.

Tehran Governor Mohsen al-Mansoori told the official IRNA news agency that the fire had been contained and “peace is steadfast,” adding that the prisoners set the fire. Evin Prison in Tehran is a notoriously brutal facility where the regime holds political opponents.

“Now the situation in the prison is under full control, and the peace in the prison complex and the streets around it are under surveillance and control,” Al-Mansoori said.

An Iranian security official said that “thugs” set fire to the prison’s clothes warehouse, IRNA reported earlier.

The activist group 1500tasvir reported that in videos posted on social media, gunshots were heard and Iranian special forces were seen heading to the area where the prison is believed to be located.

The official IRNA news agency quoted the Iranian official as saying that the “rioters” were separated from the other prisoners and the other detainees returned to their cells.

CNN cannot independently verify the situation.

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard Reply on Twitter to videos on social media while reminding the Iranian authorities of their “legal obligation to respect and protect” the lives of prisoners after the fire.

Callamard referred to the prison as a “notorious” and retweeted a post by journalist Jason Rezaian which narrates the “544 Days” podcast about his time in prison.

“Evin is no ordinary prison. Many of Iran’s best and brightest have spent long periods confined there, where brave men and women are denied their basic rights to speak the truth to power,” Rezaian Wrote. “The system is responsible for what’s going on inside now.”

Speaking to Iranian state radio, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said the “conflict” in prison was not linked to the protests that swept the country after the death of a young woman in police custody.

In September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly not wearing a headscarf properly. Iranian authorities have since launched a brutal crackdown on protesters, who have united around a range of grievances from the country’s authoritarian regime.

“The prisoner’s conflict today has nothing to do with the recent riots, and basically, the ward of the security prisoners is separate and far from the prisons of thieves and financial convicts that have erupted in flames and conflict,” Salehi said.

According to the Tehran prosecutor, Wards 7 and 8 were overcrowded, and the main issue was the fire – which he said some prisoners had started. He said that both the prison and the streets around it were now under control.

Eyewitnesses said earlier that Iranian security forces Hit, shoot and arrest Students at Sharif University of Tehran. Last month, nearly two dozen children were killed during the protests, according to A Amnesty International report.

At least 23 children – some as young as 11 – were killed by security forces in the last ten days of September alone, said the report.

Earlier this week, an Iranian official said Confess too School students participating in street protests are being detained and taken to psychiatric institutions.