Eight injured after fierce fire in Iranian prison where Belgian and VUB guest professor may also be imprisoned | Abroad

The fire started after “riots” Saturday evening. “Penal peace has returned,” a security officer told the news agency earlier.

According to the official Iranian news agency Irna, the riots were caused by “a group of detainees from a department where criminals and hooligans are locked up”. Tehran’s public prosecutor said the turmoil in the prison had nothing to do with the ongoing protests against the Iranian regime. The site of the riot is separated from the part of the prison where inmates are held on security charges.

It is not possible to independently verify the information about the fire and riots. Thousands of video images are now doing the rounds on social media about chaos around the prison. Shots can also be heard in it. According to media reports, worried relatives of detainees descend on the prison.

Critics fear that the authorities started the fire themselves to eliminate opponents.

Hundreds of political prisoners are locked up in Eving Prison, including possibly VUB professor Ahmadreza Djalali and Olivier Vandecasteele (41). This Belgian NGO employee has been imprisoned in Iran for more than six months for unclear reasons.

Many demonstrators who were arrested during the latest protests against the regime are also staying in Eving Prison. It is very restless in the vicinity of the complex on Saturday evening. According to the opposition ‘People’s Mujahideen of Iran’, civilians are gathering there to help the detainees.

Guards have sent attack dogs into the building. Sirens blare incessantly and grenade explosions and gunfire can be heard, Iran’s People’s Mujahideen said in a statement.

There has been a lot of unrest in Iran for a month after the Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini (22) died in hospital. The young woman was arrested three days earlier by the religious police for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely.

The recent demonstrations often led to clashes with the Iranian security forces, and dozens of people have already lost their lives in those clashes. Protests are also taking place in Iran this weekend. The protests are increasingly openly directed against the government.

The United States, meanwhile, has expressed concern about the situation. “We are following the reports about the prison very closely,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter. According to the spokesman, Washington is in contact with Switzerland, which represents American interests in Iran (there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries, ed.). “Iran is fully responsible for the safety of our wrongfully detained citizens. They must be released immediately.”

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