DUBAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Gunfire erupted in a Tehran prison housing political prisoners and dual-national detainees on Saturday, witnesses said, and smoke could be seen rising above the prison.
State media quoted a security official as blaming “criminal elements” for the unrest, which erupted after nearly a month of protests across Iran over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd.
The officer said calm had returned, but a witness said shots could still be heard.
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“The roads leading to Evin prison have been closed to traffic. There are many ambulances here,” said a witness contacted by Reuters. “Still we can hear gunshots.”
Another witness said the prisoners’ families had gathered in front of the prison’s main entrance. “I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces. Ambulances are here too,” they said.
Activist website 1500tasvir shared video footage it said showed special forces on motorbikes heading to the prison.
The prison mainly houses detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. He has long been criticized by Western rights groups and was blacklisted by the US government in 2018 for “serious human rights abuses”.
Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American jailed for nearly seven years on espionage charges dismissed by Washington as unfounded, returned to Evin on Wednesday after being granted a short leave, his lawyer said.
Human Rights Watch has accused prison authorities of using threats of torture and indefinite imprisonment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care to detainees.
The Evin prison riots followed nearly a month of protests across Iran since Amini – a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region – died on September 16 while in custody for ” inappropriate clothing.”
The protests have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
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Reporting from the Dubai Bureau Written by Dominic Evans Editing by Helen Popper, William Maclean
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