Amnesty: independent investigation into Evin prison after the clashes and fire of 15 October

An investigation conducted by independent international observers "on the harrowing use of force, illegal, by the security forces in the Evin prison in Tehran on October 15, 2022", while the prison north of the capital was on fire and while inside it clashes occurred which caused the death of

.

Amnesty International asked the Islamic Republic of Iran.

From its headquarters in Iran, the NGO appeals to the Iranian authorities to authorize the investigations.

It is necessary to shed light on the still unclear incidents in the capital jail and on any "crimes committed by the Iranian authorities through an investigative, reporting and independent accountability mechanism" to "protect prisoners from further illegal killings, torture and other ill-treatment. ", reads a statement from the Iranian section of the NGO.

The inmates were part of the special section of those convicted of robberies and financial crimes, who died as a result of the inhalation of smoke caused by the fire set in the prison sewing workshop.

The fire broke out as a riot and some clashes took place inside the prison, sparked according to Iranian media by "a group of prisoners of the arm where bandits and thugs are incarcerated".

According to the Tehran prosecutor, the situation is not connected to the ongoing protests in Iran, because the area where the clashes broke out is separate from that where political prisoners are held.  

In the dreaded prison north of Tehran, many political prisoners and dissidents are held, such as director

and former parliamentary human rights activist

, daughter of the former Iranian president who died in 2017. Italian

, arrested on 28 September as part of the anti-veil demonstrations in Tehran.

The Amnesty investigation also wants to shed light on the fate of the thousands of protesters arrested in the anti-government protests in recent weeks. 

Not only arrests, the mobilizations for the death of the young Mahsa Amini have caused more than 200 deaths in the country, according to the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, while Tehran and

accuse the United States and other Western countries of incitement to the demonstrations and to have also put a hand in the flames in Evin.

Ap

A burning staircase in Evin prison, Tehran 151022