Officials say calm has been restored at Tehran's notorious Evin prison after a fire broke out and shooting was heard amid weeks of protests and nationwide unrest over the death of a 22-year-old woman while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
A reporter from RFE/RL's Radio Farda was told a riot began on October 15 in Ward 7 of the prison, which is famous for holding political prisoners and was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2018 for being a place with "serious rights abuses." The ward is next to another area where those detained during the unrest over the death of Mahsa Amini are being held.
Video and photos on social media showed smoke rising above the prison. State media quoted a security official as saying "criminal elements" caused the disturbance but that the situation had been brought under control, even though some social media reports said gunshots could still be heard in the area.
Officials in Tehran have yet to comment on the situation.
Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests -- one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution -- sparked by Amini's death on September 16.
Amini was detained by morality police for "inappropriate attire" with regard to her head scarf, or hijab. Eyewitnesses say Amini, who comes from the country's Kurdish region, was beaten while in custody, but the authorities gave the official cause of death as "underlying diseases."
Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces.
The unrest has continued despite what Amnesty International called an "unrelenting brutal crackdown" that included an "all-out attack on child protesters" -- leading to the deaths of at least 23 minors.
The crackdown has drawn international condemnation and sanctions on Iran from Britain, Canada, and the United States.