Protests in solidarity with the inmates of Tehran’s Evin prison continued until night after reports of a fire and shooting in the prison.
On Saturday evening, there were reports of a large fire and shooting in the prison, but the authorities later stated that the fire had been put out and the situation was under control.
Exposed flames and smoke can be seen in the darkness above the prison, and what sounded like a hail of gunfire can be heard in a video that the Oslo-based Iranian Human Rights Organization shared on Twitter.
In the background of the video, slogans such as “Death to the dictator” were heard.
The activist website 1500 Tasfer on the Internet reported on Saturday evening that “a fire is spreading in Evin prison” and “an explosion was heard.”
confirms dissatisfaction
Authorities confirmed unrest and clashes in the prison, and a senior official told IRNA news agency that the fire broke out because inmates set fire to a warehouse full of prison uniforms. The source stated that the “rioters” separated from the others in an attempt to calm the situation.
Roads to the prison were closed, and riot police were seen on their way to the prison on motorbikes, along with ambulances and fire trucks. Eyewitnesses stated that the Internet is blocked in the area. Several cars were fired in solidarity with the protesters criticizing the regime.
notorious prison
Evin Prison, in northern Tehran, is notorious for mistreatment and torturing of colleagues. The prison has many political prisoners, dissidents and human rights activists, and there are many foreigners there as well.
Reports also indicate that hundreds of detainees during last month’s protests were sent there.
On Saturday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price warned the authorities in Iran, explaining that they are “responsible for the safety of American citizens who have been arrested on false grounds.”
Women in the fore
Thousands of people demonstrated again on Saturday in a number of places in Iran under the slogan “the beginning of the end.” People also chanted “Death to the dictator,” a slogan that went viral in Iran last month.
The protests began after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police on 16 September. Three days earlier, she was stopped on a street in Tehran, for allegedly not covering her hair enough.
Young women led the protests, chanting slogans calling for equality and regime change, burning headscarves and cutting their hair to protest the regime’s use of power.
Without veil
On Saturday evening, activists made calls for new mass protests under the slogan “The Beginning of the End”, and the calls spread despite the internet outage.
In a video clip circulated on social media on Saturday, women without headscarves during a demonstration at a technical college in Tehran chanted slogans against the mullahs, while another video showed protesters chanting, clapping and throwing objects at police in a roundabout in the city of Hamedan.
Despite the internet shutdown, protesters poured into the streets of Ardabil, according to another video, and in Amini’s hometown of Saqqaz, shops closed in protest.
– We must be present in places and on the streets, because the best VPN right now is the streets, activists declared, pointing to encrypted channels to bypass restrictions on the Internet.
At least 108 people were killed by security forces during the protests, and 93 others were killed in other clashes in Zahedan, according to the Iranian human rights organization in exile.
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