Eight fatalities reported following violence in Iran's notorious prison

The number of prisoners who died in recent violence in Iran's Evin prison rose to eight, the Iranian judiciary's media Mizan News said.

According to an initial report by the judiciary, a fire erupted in a workshop in the prison compound following a fighting among inmates on Saturday, and while four inmates died in the fire and 61 were injured, 70 prisoners were evacuated.

It later said on Monday that a further four inmates, who had been taken to the hospital for treatment, could not be saved.

Independent Iranian news outlet Iran News had also reported on the incident, saying that riots took place in wards 7 and 8, where mostly common criminals are incarcerated, and that prisoners in other wards and some people in the neighborhood heard gunshots.

There may have been also some political activists imprisoned in the two wards, who have been recently detained during Mahsa Amini protests, it noted.

The Coordinating Council of Trade Union Organizations of Iranian Educators expressed deep concern in a statement. They warned:

"Responsibility for the protection and health of prisoners is with the organization of prisons and the judiciary. Responsibility for the loss of life of any prisoners is on the judiciary of the Islamic Republic and will certainly have severe consequences for its perpetrators."

The statement named imprisoned teachers in Evin, including Rasul Bodaghi, Jafar Ebrahimi, Mohammad Habibi, Eskandar Lotfi, and Masoud Nikkhah.

Political activists have regularly been incarcerated in large numbers in Evin prison in the capital city of Tehran since its opening in 1972 during Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign. Iran Wire earlier said that the number of recently detained protesters in Evin prison is estimated to be over 1,400 as of 26 September.