Authorities claimed that the fire broke out after prisoners had a fight. Four people have died after a fire broke out inside Evin Prison in Iran, authorities have said. The inmates, who were held in the prison in Tehran on robbery convictions, died of smoke inhalation after the blaze started on Saturday. At least 61 people were injured, including 10 that were hospitalised – with four in serious condition, the Iranian judiciary’s website said on Sunday. The fire was extinguished after several hours of being sparked and no detainees escaped although a number of them had tried, the Iranian state media reported. The blaze broke out after a fight between prisoners, the reports added in an apparent attempt to separate the incident from protests that have been raging across Iran triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody. Gunshots were heard at the prison while plumes of smoke rose from the building and alarms sounded, videos posted online and local media reported. Hundreds of people are imprisoned at Evin, where charities have reported repeated abuses of human rights. The US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran said an “armed conflict” broke out within the prison walls. It added shots were first heard in ward seven of the jail. The activist website 1500tasvir shared video footage it said showed special forces on motorbikes heading for the prison. The unrest at Evin prison came during the fifth week of anti-government protests across Iran that erupted after Mahsa Amini died last month at the age of 22 following her arrest by Iran’s “morality police”.
via independent: Four inmates killed and 61 injured in Iran prison fire