Tehran (IP) - Thugs and prisoners convicted of violent crimes were responsible for the fire in Ward Haft of Evin Prison, says the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights (HCHR) of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran PressMiddle East: The fire in Evin prison occurred on Saturday evening following a conflict between several prisoners in the section for financial and theft crimes convicts.

The incident left four prisoners dead and 61 injured, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced. Fifty-one of the wounded were with light injuries, and ten others, 4 of them, were seriously hospitalized.

"I just visited different sections of Evin Prison, including its' health center. I also talked with the Head of the State Prisons Organization regarding the current situation of prisoners," The Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights, Kazem Gharibabadi, said after visiting Tehran's Evin prison on Sunday after a fire broke out in the left four dead.

"Clashes and fires broke out by those incarcerated in Ward No. 7, where thugs and prisoners convicted of violent crimes are held. Hopefully, the fires did not spread to other wards," he added.

"Calm has now been restored in Evin Prison, and the situation is under full control," the secretary of HCHR added, Gharibabadi said."

All the prisoners are in contact with their families, and those who sustained injuries have received treatment. The security and safety of prisoners are of paramount importance. The prison officials have promised to ensure all prisoners' rights are fully respected," he noted.

I also spoke face-to-face with some of those detained in the recent riots. A significant part of the detainees in Tehran province, more than 620 people, were released, Gharibabadi underscored."

Those who have acted on the outburst of emotions and protested peacefully are differentiated from those who have disturbed and jeopardized public security and order. I'll ensure the first group will be treated with Islamic leniency," he noted.

"I also had a separate meeting with the judges and authorities of the Prisons Organisation. They will spare no effort to make sure the rights of the detainees, including but not limited to access to a lawyer and unhindered contact with immediate family members, are fully respected," the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs highlighted.

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Four were killed in a fire at Tehran's Evin prison