Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Several dead after fire at Iran's notorious Evin prison

Several dead after fire at Iran's notorious Evin prison

Four prisoners have died and 61 have been injured following a major fire at Iran's notorious Evin prison, according to an Iranian state news agency.

Sources inside the prison — which is known for housing political prisoners — have told BBC Persian the number of casualties is higher.

Videos shared online showed flames and smoke at the site in Tehran, and gunshots and explosions could be heard.

The fire followed weeks of anti-government protests across Iran.

Hundreds of those taking part in protests have been sent to Evin prison. It is not known whether the situation at the jail is linked to the demonstrations.

The protests first erupted last month after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody. Officials said she died of a heart attack, but her family disputed this, saying she was beaten by morality police.

State media has suggested the events in Evin prison are not linked to the ongoing protests, quoting an official who blamed "criminal elements" for the fire.

Speaking from inside the prison, Tehran's governor told state TV that there was a riot in a wing of the prison housing petty criminals.

Meanwhile, Iran's Mizan News has said the injured developed breathing difficulties during a fire at the prison's sewing workshop. Four of the injured are in critical condition, it reported.

Some journalists on social media accused the authorities of "setting the prison ablaze intentionally" as a high profile political prisoner was sent home before it broke out.

Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani — son of Iran's late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — was given "early temporary release", according to his brother.

Dramatic footage of the fire and smoke was first posted on social media on Saturday evening.

In several videos people could be heard outside the prison chanting "death to the dictator" — one of the main slogans of the anti-government protest movement.

Gunshots and explosions were audible in other videos — prompting rights groups to raise grave fears for the fate of the inmates.

The Fars news agency — which is linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards — initially said the explosions were due to mines going off after a prison break.

"Some prisoner who attempted to escape amid the fire, ended up in a minefield in the northern side of the prison," it reported.

Later however, the agency said this was not the case, quoting a source saying no prisoner had stepped on a mine.

One video posted online appeared to show objects fired into the prison from outside its perimeter, followed by the sound of an explosion.

Families and lawyers of prisoners had not been allowed near the jail last night, and roads were blocked, the family of a political prisoner told BBC Persian.

The families of some prisoners said they had not been able to contact their relatives on the phone, and that the Internet connection around the prison appeared to have been cut off.

However, later some prisoners were able to reach out to their families to tell them that they were safe.

The husband of journalist Niloufar Hamed said she had been able to phone him, and he told her he was fine, but did not know what had happened in the jail.

And Iranian-American dual national Siamak Namazi told his lawyer he had been moved to a secure area.

A former prisoner, who spent 200 days in solitary confinement in the jail, told the BBC it must have been a terrifying experience for the prisoners.

"It is absolutely terrifying as it is to be in that concrete cell, let alone to have fire raging outside your cell, explosions happening, sound of gunshots," she said.

On Saturday night Iranian state TV broadcast a report showing parts of the prison safe and calm.

However exiled Iranian journalist Masoud Kazemi — who spent almost a year inside Evin — said the report had only shown areas of the jail where the action had not taken place.

British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were both held at Evin prison for several years on spying charges, which they denied, before their release earlier this year.

The prison has long been criticized by Western rights groups. Human Rights Watch has accused authorities at the prison of using threats of torture and of indefinite imprisonment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care for detainees.

A group of hackers calling themselves Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) posted videos in August last year of leaked surveillance footage from Evin prison showing guards beating or mistreating inmates.

Some foreign governments whose citizens are being held in the prison have expressed concern.

A spokesperson for the US state department said it was following events with "urgency", while the UK government's security minister called it a "very worrying development".

Since the death of Amini five weeks ago, a wave of protests has swept across Iran in the boldest challenge to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.

Many of those who have died have been teenagers.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×