Death toll rises to 8 in fire at Iran prison that houses hundreds of political dissidents

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The death toll in a ferocious blaze at a prison in Iran's capital rose to eight Monday, according to government officials.

Dozens more were injured in the Saturday night fire that swept through Evin prison, one of Tehran's most notorious lockups that houses hundreds of political dissidents rounded up during anti-government protests that have swept the country for more than a month.

The nationwide unrest was sparked after a young woman died in state police custody, but so far Iranian authorities have not drawn any connection between the ongoing demonstrations and the fire.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Sunday that the first four victims died of smoke inhalation while more than 60 others were injured in the blaze, which started inside a sewing workshop at the prison, where a brawl erupted among inmates.

Officials did not clarify the causes of death for the other four, saying only they were "injured after fighting among prisoners and the fire."

Some of the prisoners were trying to escape before security forces moved in and stopped them, but government-controlled media gave mostly unreliable accounts about what exactly happened.

Some reports indicated that guards may have fired tear gas in order to put down a mutiny, while witnesses later told reporters that prisoners didn't set the blaze that took several hours to extinguish.

Photographs of the aftermath show an entire wing of the prison completely gutted.

Ned Price, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that officials are following reports from the prison "with urgency."

"We are in contact with the Swiss as our protecting power," Price said in a statement. "Iran is fully responsible for the safety of our wrongfully detained citizens, who should be released immediately."

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organization has issued a statement calling for an international mechanism to be urgently founded under the United Nations to investigate the facts behind the fire and to hold those responsible to account.

The organization said that based on Iran's history of "concealing facts" and "mass prison killings" it rejects the officials' account of the situation.

It also said special forces were deployed to the prison without any explanation and that it has received reports that some political and regular criminal prisoners were beaten with batons.

"It's more necessary than ever to establish an independent mechanism under the supervision of the United Nations to investigate the killing of protesters and events at Evin and other prisons, and prosecute the perpetrators," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Iran Human Rights. "This mechanism must be established before a bigger tragedy occurs."

Video taken from outside the prison was widely shared on social media, showing flames and thick smoke billowing into the atmosphere as gunshots and explosions blared inside.

Meanwhile, protests continued after gripping the country for five weeks, with thousands of people in multiple regions taking to the streets and chanting, "Death to the dictator," in defiance of Iran's supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died when she was detained by the country's so-called morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

Protests and vigils have also been held worldwide, while inside Iran the government has blocked access to the Internet and messaging apps in a deepening crackdown on the demonstrations.