[7] The prison is known to hold political activists, journalists and those facing security related charges, as well as dual and foreign nationals.
[8][9] It also has a long history of holding political prisoners and those with ties to Western governments that can be used as bargaining chips in international negotiations, and has been charged by human rights groups with abusing inmates.
[10] Mehdi Rafsanjani (son of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani), who was on a regular Wednesday-to-Friday furlough from Evin Prison, where he was serving a sentence for financial corruption, was told on Wednesday 12 October not to return to the prison until after Saturday 15 October.
According to The New York Times (NYT), three versions include "an explosive device, an attempted escape and an infiltration of the prison from the outside".
[5] Fars News Agency said that four "massive explosions" took place after IRNA claimed that the fire had been extinguished.
[3] Windows of nearby homes were shattered by the blast waves from the explosions heard around 21:00 local time, according to a NYT witness.
[3] Amirdaryoush Youhaei, a local resident, stated that "There was a massive siren and then eleven big explosions and machine gunfire that didn't stop.