Four killed, 61 injured in Iran prison fire as protests go on

Teheran says fire started after fight among inmates; jail holds many political detainees

A fire at Iran's Evin prison late on Saturday killed four detainees and injured 61, state media reported, as anti-government protests sparked by a woman's death in police custody continued on Sunday, including at several universities.

Iranian 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". Evin holds many detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality.

Iran's judiciary said four of those injured in Saturday's fire were in critical condition and that those killed had died of smoke inhalation, state media reported.

Earlier, state television aired video apparently showing that calm had returned to the facility.

The protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution, and have been met with a brutal state crackdown.