Iranian protesters have opened a new front as their demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini enter a fourth month, taking to windows and rooftops to show their anger at the government as they push for more freedoms.
Instead of taking to the streets, people have been chanting anti-government slogans from their apartment buildings in several neighborhoods of Tehran, according to posts on social media. At the same time, street protests and slogans continued in some neighborhoods of the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad and the western city of Kermanshah.
News of the fresh protests came as the head of justice of the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran confirmed reports of a conflict at the Qaem Shahr prison on December 18.
The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) quoted Mohammad Sadegh Akbari as saying that the violence lasted for about an hour before the intervention of prison security forces.
Akbari did not say whether there were any fatalities or injuries in the incident.
However, some social media posts described the prison conflict as severe and reported the presence of firefighters, ambulances, and plainclothes forces.
Earlier, there were reports of a riot at the Karaj Central Prison where many protesters arrested in the recent unrest are being held.
The Iran Human Rights organization reported on December 18 that following the transfer of "a prisoner sentenced to death" to solitary confinement for the execution of the sentence, the prisoners of Ward 4 of this prison rioted and by closing the entrances chanted the slogans "Death to Khamenei" and "Death to the Islamic Republic".
The semiofficial ISNA news agency also confirmed the death of a prisoner in these clashes.
Since Amini's death on September 16 while she was in police custody for an alleged violation of the country's head scarf rules, many reports of riots in various prisons have surfaced. Judicial authorities have yet to publish accurate information on the number of people injured and killed in the riots.
There have been calls for a new round of protests that began on December 19 to last until December 21 in a push to broaden what has become the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
A brutal government crackdown on the demonstrators has seen several thousand arrested, including journalists, lawyers, activists, digital rights defenders, and others voicing opposition to the government.
Lawmakers have demanded an even sharper reaction, calling for heavy penalties, including death sentences, for protesters.
Two public executions have already taken place, according to authorities, and rights groups say many others have been handed death sentences, while at least two dozen others face charges that could carry the death penalty.
