Iran’s judiciary has said eight prisoners were killed after a fire at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison as protests continue nationwide.
Details still remain scarce over the blaze, which broke out on Saturday night as nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody entered a fifth week.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency raised the death toll, saying the prisoners had succumbed to their injuries on Sunday.
It said all of the dead had been held on theft charges.
Mizan described the incident as a “fight between inmates and a fire”, though it offered no evidence to support the claim.
Activists outside of Iran say they remain sceptical of the Iranian government’s claims, particularly as their recent descriptions of the nationwide protests have drastically differed with those on the ground.
Flames and thick smoke rising from the prison in Tehran had been widely visible on Saturday night.
In online videos, gunshots and explosions could be heard in the area of the prison.
The blaze was extinguished after several hours and no detainees escaped, state media said.
Authorities have attempted to distance the events at the prison from the ongoing protests, while state media has offered conflicting accounts of the violence. Hundreds are being held at Evin, where human rights groups have reported repeated abuses of prisoners.
The protests erupted after public outrage over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
She was arrested by Iran’s morality police in Tehran for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
Iran’s government insists Ms Amini was not mistreated in police custody, but her family says her body showed bruises and other signs of beating after she was detained.
US President Joe Biden, on a weekend trip to Oregon, said the Iranian government is “so oppressive” and that he had an “enormous amount of respect for people marching in the streets”.
Evin Prison, which holds detainees facing security-related charges and includes dual citizens, has been charged by rights groups with abusing inmates.
The facility has long been known for holding political prisoners as well as those with ties to the West who have been used by Iran as bargaining chips in international negotiations.
