Citizens in northern Tehran reported a fire in the Evin Prison at 8:10 p.m. local time on October 15. The slogans “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator” could be heard in the area at the same time. Following the event, hundreds of citizens marched to the prison, with social media videos showing heavy traffic on the Yadegar expressway. Authorities dispatched dozens of anti-riot forces in response to the prison unrest. Despite the repressive measures, dozens of citizens were able to get close to the prison.
Officials’ account of the “Evin Incident”
Following reports of a fire at the prison, the judiciary’s Mizan outlet announced that eight inmates accused of theft died as a result of smoke inhalation. The publication also stated that 61 inmates are in coherent situations. Authorities believe the fire started in an entrepreneur-sewing workshop.
“We witnessed the blaze inside the prison from 8:00 pm; the sound of gunfire did not stop,” they said. The prison’s alarm had gone off several times since the morning. Several sources claim that prisoners have started a riot inside Evin. Firefighters arrived late but did nothing.”
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stated on October 18 that “while the regime is attempting to cover up the major atrocity it committed in Evin prison and does not even allow its Majles deputies to visit the prison, the scale of the crime comes to light after 48 hours.”
#BREAKING#IranRevolution2022—Day 30
Tehran, #Iran's capital—Footage shows the fire at the notorious Evin prison. The sound of gunfire is heard.#MahsaAmini🌹 pic.twitter.com/fXNVcKgYbv— Iran News Update (@IranNewsUpdate1) October 15, 2022
The following are additional details about the tragedy, based on reports and statements by eyewitnesses willing to testify before international courts and authorities:
- Thirty to forty prisoners were killed by the IRGC Special Force guarding the Supreme Leader (NOPO) during the attack on Evin Prison.
- The attack on the prisoners was pre-planned. Mehdi Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s son and an Evin prisoner on leave, was told not to return to the prison. Both Akbar Tabari, the deputy to then-Judiciary Chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani, and Mohammad Ali Najafi, the former Minister and Mayor of Tehran, who are both detained in Evin, were transferred to the Evin medical center prior to the attack for their safety.
- The ruthless guards (NOPO) threw some prisoners off the roof. They fired live ammunition from the roof at the prisoners in the courtyard, and attacked Ward 8 with live ammunition and suffocating them with tear gas.
- Some prisoners and informants in Ward 8 were spying on the prisoners, cooperating with the suppressive forces, and guiding them. After firing tear gas and shooting, the special unit forces forced the prisoners to lie down in the prison yard and beat them to death.
- They fired tear gas inside the women’s Ward while also locking the doors, preventing the female prisoners from reacting to save themselves.
Watch and judge what the #Iranian regime's brutal crackdown at Evin Prison tells about #IranRevoIution2022 as well as #Khamenei's state of mind pic.twitter.com/mqsSXeX6Rq
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 18, 2022
The Iranian opposition group revealed that a rebellion inside Iran’s most controlled center of torture, execution, and suffocation, which was completely linked with the nationwide protests, is another indication of the progress and expansion of the popular uprising. Fear and terror are being overcome by Iranians across the country.
