Fire, gunshots at Tehran jail holding political prisoners, dual nationals

A occurrence broke retired connected Saturday successful Tehran's Evin prison, wherever galore of Iran's governmental and dual-national detainees are held, and witnesses reported proceeding gunfire.

State quality bureau IRNA said 8 radical were injured successful the unrest, which erupted aft astir a period of protests crossed Iran implicit the decease successful detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman.

The protests person posed 1 of the astir superior challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations spreading crossed the state and immoderate radical chanting for the decease of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

An Iranian judiciary connection said a situation store was acceptable connected occurrence "after a combat among a fig of prisoners convicted of fiscal crimes and theft". Tehran's occurrence section told authorities media the origin of the incidental was nether investigation.

The prison, located successful the foothills astatine the bluish borderline of the Iranian capital, holds transgression convicts arsenic good arsenic governmental detainees.

"Roads starring to Evin situation person been closed to traffic. There are tons of ambulances here," said a witnesser contacted by Reuters. "Still, we tin perceive gunshots."

Another witnesser said families of prisoners had gathered successful beforehand of the main situation entrance. "I tin spot occurrence and smoke. Lots of peculiar forces," the witnesser said.

A information authoritative said calm had been restored astatine the prison, but the archetypal witnesser said ambulance sirens could beryllium heard and fume inactive roseate implicit the prison.

"People from adjacent buildings are chanting 'Death to Khamenei' from their windows," the witnesser said.

Early connected Sunday, IRNA carried a video it said showed situation areas damaged by fire. Firemen were seen dousing the debris with water, seemingly to forestall the blaze from re-igniting.

The situation mostly holds detainees facing information charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. It has agelong been criticised by Western rights groups and was blacklisted by the U.S. authorities successful 2018 for "serious quality rights abuses".

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American imprisoned for astir 7 years connected espionage-related charges rejected by Washington arsenic baseless, returned to Evin connected Wednesday aft being granted a little furlough, his lawyer said.

Other U.S. citizens held successful Evin see environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who besides has British nationality, and businessman Emad Shargi, according to quality rights lawyer Saeid Dehghan.

He added that respective different dual nationals are held astatine Evin, including French-Iranian world Fariba Adelkhah and Iranian-Swedish Ahmadreza Djalali, a catastrophe medicine doctor.

Asked astir the situation fire, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters during a run travel to Portland, Oregon: "The Iranian authorities is truthful oppressive."

He said helium was amazed by "the courageousness of radical and women taking (to) the street" successful the caller protests and had tremendous respect for them. "It's been truly amazing," helium added. "They're not a bully group, successful the government."

U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price tweeted, "we are pursuing reports from Evin Prison with urgency. We are successful interaction with the Swiss arsenic our protecting power. Iran is afloat liable for the information of our wrongfully detained citizens, who should beryllium released immediately."

Human Rights Watch has accused authorities astatine the situation of utilizing threats of torture and of indefinite imprisonment, arsenic good arsenic lengthy interrogations and denial of aesculapian attraction for detainees.

"No information (political) captive was progressive successful today's clash betwixt prisoners, and fundamentally the ward for information prisoners is abstracted and acold from the wards for thieves and those convicted of fiscal crimes," an unnamed authoritative told the Tasnim quality agency.

The unrest astatine Evin situation occurred aft astir a period of protests crossed Iran since Amini - a 22-year-old pistillate from the country's Kurdish portion - died connected Sept. 16 portion being held for "inappropriate attire".

Although the unrest does not look adjacent to toppling the system, the protests person widened into strikes that person closed shops and businesses, touched the vital energy sector and inspired brazen acts of dissent against Iran's spiritual rule.

On Saturday protesters crossed Iran chanted successful the streets and successful universities against the country's clerical leaders.

A video posted by the Norway-based enactment Iran Human Rights purported to amusement protests successful the northeastern metropolis of Mashhad, Iran's second-most populous city, with demonstrators chanting "Clerics get lost" and drivers honking their horns.

Videos posted by the radical showed a onslaught by shopkeepers successful the northwestern Kurdish metropolis of Saqez - Amini's location town. Another video connected societal media showed pistillate precocious schoolhouse students chanting "Woman, Life, Freedom" connected the streets of Sanandaj, the superior of Kurdistan province.

Reuters could not independently verify the videos. Phone and net services successful Iran person been often disrupted implicit the past period and net watchdog NetBlocks reported "a caller large disruption" soon earlier Saturday's protests began.

The Iranian activistic quality bureau HRANA said successful a posting online that 240 protesters had been killed successful the unrest, including 32 minors. It said 26 members of the information forces were killed and astir 8,000 radical had been arrested successful protests successful 111 cities and towns and immoderate 73 universities.

Among the casualties person been teenage girls whose deaths person go a rallying outcry for much demonstrations demanding the downfall of the Islamic Republic.

Protesters called connected Saturday for demonstrations successful the northwestern metropolis of Ardabil implicit the decease of Asra Panahi, a teen from the Azeri taste number who activists alleged was beaten to decease by information forces.

Officials denied the study and quality agencies adjacent to the Revolutionary Guards quoted her uncle arsenic saying the precocious schoolhouse pupil had died of a bosom problem.