Baku, Azerbaijan, August 5
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
An Iranian official has confirmed that at least 11 prisoners were killed in a fire occurred in a jail in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.
Seyyed Abdollah Mousavi, head of the province's judiciary said that the fire took place at 16:00 local time (GMT +4:30 hours) in the jail of Shahrekord city on August 4, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
Mousavi said that asphyxiation was the reason of the prisoners' death.
Iranian media outlets reported that several people were also injured in the incident.
Mousavi went on to add that the cause of the fire is being investigated.
Iran's Saham news portal reported that the incident occurred when the prisoners burned jail overalls and mattress as a sign of a protest to the head of the prison, who has attempted to punish a group of prisoners who were in a strike.
The guards locked the main doors of the jail and prevented rendering assistance to the prisoners when the fire occurred, according to the report.
IRNA quoted Mousavi as saying "currently the prison's atmosphere is calm and there is no problem."