Eight useless in fireplace at Evin jail in Tehran

No less than eight inmates have died in a fireplace at Tehran’s infamous Evin jail, amid protests in Iran sparked by the demise a month in the past of younger lady Mahsa Amini, an official supply mentioned on Monday.

‘4 individuals (wounded) died in hospital, bringing the demise toll to eight’, indicated Mizan On-line, the location of the Judicial Authority, with out specifying whether or not they perished after inhalation of smoke like the primary 4 deaths. The useless are all convicted of theft.

The authorities accused ‘thugs’ of getting ‘set fireplace to a clothes warehouse on Saturday night’ on this detention heart and had reported clashes between prisoners after which between detainees and guards who intervened to place an finish to the violence.

The scenario is “again to regular”, they assured.

“What occurred in Evin jail was against the law dedicated by some parts (linked to) the enemy,” mentioned the pinnacle of the Judicial Authority Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, quoted Monday by Mizan On-line, with out additional ado. precision.

Iranian leaders accuse the West, together with the US, Iran’s sworn enemy, of fomenting the ‘riots’, in reference to the demonstrations following the demise on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested for 3 days earlier by the morality police in Tehran.

Bloody repression

The official Iranian company Irna nonetheless claimed that the unrest in Evin had ‘nothing to do’ with the demonstrations, which entered their fifth week regardless of the crackdown which left a minimum of 122 individuals useless, together with youngsters, in keeping with a modern report by Iran Human Rights (IHR) based mostly in Oslo.

NGOs have questioned the authorities’ model of the unrest at Evin jail, identified for its mistreatment of political detainees and the place foreigners are imprisoned.

“Given how regular the mendacity of official officers has turn into, we don’t settle for official explanations,” IHR mentioned, saying it had acquired stories that guards had sought to encourage prisoners.

Detained legal professionals

On movies posted on social networks, gunshots and the sound of explosions have been heard the night of the hearth close to the jail.

Lots of of individuals arrested throughout protests over the demise of Mahsa Amini have reportedly been despatched to Evin. Amongst them are demonstrators but additionally journalists, intellectuals, activists, artists, legal professionals…

After the hearth, a number of NGOs in addition to the US and France expressed concern for the prisoners, however a number of overseas prisoners have been in a position to contact their households.

Among the many foreigners in Evin are the French-Iranian tutorial Fariba Adelkhah and the American Siamak Namazi, who’re secure. In addition to the Austrians Massoud Mossaheb and Kamran Ghaderi. The Italian globetrotter detained in Evin can also be doing effectively.

Iranian free speech activist Hossein Ronaghi, known as his mom from Evin, the place he has been detained since September, and ‘may barely communicate’, his brother Hassan wrote on Twitter. His household claims he was abused and has each damaged legs.

‘We’re appalled on the circumstances to which activist Hossein Ronaghi is being subjected and he have to be launched. He suffered torture, noticed a starvation strike and there was the hearth,” mentioned the NGO for the protection of freedom of expression Article 19.

In keeping with an Iranian lawyer, Saeid Dehghan, 19 legal professionals who wished to defend these arrested in the course of the demonstrations had additionally been arrested.

European sanctions

The wave of protest in Iran is the most important since that of 2019 in opposition to the rise within the worth of gasoline on this oil-rich nation.

The demise of Mahsa Amini, whom the police accused of getting damaged the strict gown code imposing the carrying of the veil for ladies, was the spark of the motion.

Since September 16, Iranian ladies, many bareheaded, have been on the forefront of the motion. Once more on Sunday, ladies demonstrated on the Shariati Technical and Vocational Faculty in Tehran, chanting “We’re all Mahsa”, in keeping with the IHR.

After the US, Canada and the UK, the European Union should in flip impose sanctions on Iran on Monday.

The EU will sanction the pinnacle of Iran’s vice police and a dozen different leaders discovered liable for the crackdown in addition to 4 entities concerned, in keeping with diplomats.

‘That is solely a primary set of sanctions. Others will observe if the regime continues the repression,” warned German Minister Annalena Baerbock.

/ATS