Reports of shootings and explosions after a fire broke out at Iran’s infamous ‘Avon Prison’
A fire has broken out at Iran’s notorious Avon prison, known for holding political prisoners, journalists and foreign nationals. In videos shared online, flames and smoke can be seen at the prison in Tehran, and the sounds of gunfire and explosions can be heard.
An official was quoted by state media as saying that the situation is under control, but in the video, the fire can still be seen.
There are also political prisoners in this prison.
It should be noted that Iran has been in the grip of anti-government protests for several weeks.
The protests erupted last month following the death of Mehsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman in police custody. Officials said he died of a heart attack, but his family disputed that, saying he was killed by the moral police.
BBC Persian’s Rana Rahimpour said it was not yet known whether the prison situation was related to the recent protests. According to him, this connection can be easily done as hundreds of protestors have been sent to Avon Jail.
State media quoted an official as saying that the two incidents are not related. He blamed “criminal elements” for this.
In a video posted on social media by the anti-government monitoring group 1500tasvir, chants of ‘Death to the dictator’, one of the main slogans of the anti-government protest movement, are seen outside the prison. can be heard.
According to BBC Farsi, in another video, objects can be seen being shot at in the prison from outside its premises and then an explosion is heard.
According to Iranian media, the riots took place between prisoners on charges of financial fraud and other serious crimes, and no political prisoners were involved.
According to the media, no loss of life has been reported in this incident, but eight people have been injured and now the situation is under control.
However, BBC Persian correspondent Qasra Naji said that the situation in the prison is still unclear. Videos are being posted on social media showing the fire still burning and gunshots being heard around the prison.
Qasra Naji said other photos showed prisoners on the roof of a part of the prison that houses political prisoners and many of the protesters arrested in the past four weeks.
Families of some prisoners told the BBC that they were unable to contact relatives by phone and that internet connections around the prison appeared to be down.
Roads leading to the jail have been blocked. Earlier, videos showed raiding police entering the Avon. There are also reports that special forces have been deployed in the area.
An eyewitness told Reuters news agency that ambulances were also there.
British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anusha Ashuri were both held for years at Avon Prison on espionage charges, which they denied before being released earlier this year.
