Iran’s protests spread, as a notorious prison burns
The clerics’ regime dithers as opposition to it widens
The terror was worst for those trapped in solitary cells the size of tables. The fire began in a basement sewing workshop and spread through Evin prison, crammed with protesters detained in the past month of unrest. Guards fired tear-gas and bullets into the smoke to force back those trying to escape. They shot at prisoners who had climbed onto the roof to breathe—and to chant against their jailers. Beyond Evin’s walls, Iranians in their thousands echoed their cries and honked their car horns.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The ayatollahs dither amid the fire”
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