Satellite photos show damage at Iran prison amid protests
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A weekend fire at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison damaged one of the largest buildings in the complex, according to satellite photos analyzed Monday. Authorities raised to eight the number of inmates killed, doubling the initial toll.
What happened on Saturday night at the prison — for decades the main holding facility for political detainees and a centerpiece of the state’s systematic crushing of dissent — remains unclear. Online videos purport to show chaotic scenes with a prison siren wailing as flames rise from the complex, the apparent crackle of gunfire and people screaming: “Death to the dictator!”
The fire erupted as nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the death of a young woman in the custody of the country’s morality police entered a fifth week. Tensions have escalated to a point unseen since the mass demonstrations that accompanied the country’s 2009 Green Movement protests.
The fire at one of Tehran’s most heavily guarded facilities potentially raises the stakes for those continuing to rally against the government and the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, for women after the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-fires-prisons-violence-dubai-f609b115e8e580a7d09782ecf4cd737a
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