Iran's prison fire death toll rises to eight - judiciary

Eight prisoners died as a result of a fire at Tehran's Evin prison over the weekend, Iran's judiciary said on Monday, doubling the toll in an incident that has increased pressure on a government already facing protests over a woman's death in police custody.

All the victims were being held in a section of the prison designated for prisoners of robbery-related crimes, the judiciary said. Evin also holds many detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality.

Authorities said on Saturday that a prison workshop had been set on fire "after a fight among a number of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft". The first four deaths reported by state media were due to smoke inhalation.

Protests sparked by 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death on Sept. 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution, with protesters calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, even if the unrest does not seem close to toppling the system.

Families of some political detainees took to social media to call on the authorities to ensure their safety at Evin prison, which in 2018 was blacklisted by the U.S. government for "serious human rights abuses".