Four prisoners are dead and 61 injured after a huge fire at Iran’s notorious Evin jail – where political prisoners and anti-government activists are held, as well as criminal convicts.
Gunshots were reported to have been fired as the blaze took hold at the jail in the capital Tehran.
An alarm was heard as the US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran claimed an “armed conflict” was taking place behind the prison walls.
Shots were said to have first been heard in Ward 7 of the jail, according to unverified reports.
State-run IRNA news agency claimed there were clashes between prisoners and personnel in one ward.
An unnamed official told the Tasnim news agency in Iran: “No security (political) prisoner was involved in the clash between prisoners, and basically the ward for security prisoners is separate and far from the wards for thieves and those convicted of financial crimes.”
More on Iran
Related Topics:
‘Rioters were separated from other prisoners’
A senior security official claimed inmates set fire to a warehouse full of prison uniforms, adding the “rioters” had been separated from the other prisoners to de-escalate the conflict.
Advertisement
The situation is now said to be “completely under control” with work under way to put the fire out.
But several eyewitnesses said ambulance sirens could still be heard and smoke could be seen over the prison.
One eyewitness told the Reuters new agency: “Roads leading to Evin prison have been closed to traffic. There are lots of ambulances here.
“Still, we can hear gunshots.”
Another witness said families of prisoners had gathered in front of the main prison entrance and “people from nearby buildings are chanting ‘Death to Khamenei’ from their windows”.
The internet was also said to have been blocked after the fire started.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:08
Why are Iranians protesting?
Fury over Iranian dress code crackdown
The blaze happened as violent anti-government demonstrations intensified across the country for a fifth week, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, with children among the dozens dead.
But her family believes her body showed signs of being beaten after she was held.
On Saturday night, the National Council of Resistance of Iran said people had gathered opposite the Iranian Embassy in London to protest against “the regime’s criminal attack on prisoners” – and to urge the international community to “intervene to prevent another massacre in Evin Prison”.
Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called for a re-think on how girls and women who do not adhere to the Islamic dress code are dealt with.
He described the prison as a “circle of hell”, revealing how he had to beg guards for basic needs such as using the toilet.
He was interrogated “day after day from eight in the morning right to 10 or 11 in the evening”, as his captors made threats against his family, showing him pictures of his wife and children and warning he would never see them again.
He eventually hit his “threshold of mental pain and had a mental collapse” – leading to three unsuccessful suicide attempts, the last being a 17-day hunger strike.
“When you are here with a heavy sentence on you it is as if you have died but you are not completely detached in this world,” he said.
Twitter account @FreeAnnosheh posted on Saturday night: “I can’t possibly imagine how awful & worried these poor families must feel. My heart goes out to everyone who has a loved one inside #Evin“.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:43
People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Image: Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Image: Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Image: Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:58
At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
Image: King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
At least 20 people have been killed and dozens more injured after an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in Gaza, health authorities have said.
Reuters news agency reported the number of dead, citing medics, with the school in the Daraj neighbourhood having been used to shelter displaced people who had fled previous bombardments.
Medical and civil defence sources on the ground confirmed women and children were among the casualties, with several charred bodies arriving at al Shifa and al Ahli hospitals.
The scene inside the school has been described as horrific, with more victims feared trapped under the rubble.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.