A fire that ravaged parts of Iran’s infamous Evin Prison has damaged one of the largest buildings in the complex, according to satellite imagery analyzed on Monday.
It remains unclear what happened Saturday night at a prison housing both political prisoners and inmates convicted on criminal charges held by the country’s competing intelligence services. It claims to show chaotic scenes of prison sirens blaring, flames rising from the facility, gunshots crackling, and people yelling “Death to the dictator!”
The fire broke out as nationwide anti-government protests entered their fifth week in the wake of the death of a young woman after being detained by the country’s morality police.
Tensions in Iran have escalated to unseen levels since massive demonstrations following the country’s 2009 Green Movement protests. The fire that broke out in his one of Tehran’s most heavily-secured facilities was the death of Martha Amini, who continues to rally against the government and the headscarf (hijab) mandated for women. It may increase your risk.
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Satellite photos taken by Planet Labs PBC on Sunday and analyzed by the Associated Press show the roof of a large building north of Evin Prison on fire.
The Iran Prison Atlas is a project by California-based rights group United for Iran that collects data on Iran’s prisons and prisoners, formerly wards of structures convicted of fraud and theft. identified as holding prisoners. But the Iran Prison Atlas warns that wards have changed over the years.
Reformist newspaper Etemad on Monday said it identified one of the affected areas as Ward 8, citing Mostafanili, a lawyer for some of Evin’s political prisoners. I will charge
He also said a political prisoner in Ward 4 of the prison inhaled tear gas during the incident. The semi-official Tasnim news agency also said Evin’s wards 6 and 7 were also damaged. Iranian state television rushed a camera crew to the scene early Sunday morning and filmed reporters walking through a hospital ward with prisoners sleeping in their bunks as firefighters extinguished the embers of the blaze. The television explained that a garment factory had caught fire.
The Iranian judiciary on Monday raised the death toll from the fire to eight.
Authorities have blamed a “rioter” for the arson, but have not said what action was taken against prisoners at the scene. A video of the fire claims to show people on the roof of the building first throwing liquid into the flames. Gunshots apparently echo through other videos, including what appears to be some sort of ordinance being thrown into the prison complex, followed by the sound of an explosion.
As the fire grew, one video included voices shouting “Death to the dictator!” That cry against Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has become common at night in Tehran amid protests, despite the risk of a death sentence in a closed revolutionary court.
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Protests erupted following public outrage over the death of 22-year-old Amini in police custody. She was arrested by the Iranian morality police in Tehran for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. The Iranian government claims Amini was not mistreated in police custody, but her family said her body had bruises and other signs of beatings after she was taken into custody. ing.
Evin Prison, which houses detainees facing security-related charges, including dual nationals, has been accused by rights groups of abusing inmates. The facility has long been known to hold political prisoners that Iran has used as a bargaining chip in international negotiations, as well as prisoners with ties to the West.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign minister was considering imposing sanctions on Iranian officials for alleged involvement in cracking down on the protests. They were expected to agree to travel bans and asset freezes.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters in Luxembourg that it was “very important to impose sanctions on those responsible for the atrocities against the Iranian people, the young people who are demonstrating for their basic rights.” “He asked to show a strong, strong position here.”
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Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselbourne said the EU “must send the signal that this is unacceptable”.
Belgian Foreign Minister Haja Raabib then said the EU would target 11 officials and four “organizations”. She didn’t provide any details.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Beerbock said the EU “cannot and will not close its eyes” to crackdowns in Iran. She said the bloc’s foreign minister would “launch a more specific package of sanctions to account for those responsible.”
Iran’s morality police are on the list, she said, but did not disclose how many individuals or entities will be sanctioned before a formal decision is made.
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“If the administration continues to depopulate like this, it’s also clear that there will be a more targeted package of sanctions against those responsible,” she said.