Inmates riot at Iran prison over coronavirus fears

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali

ISTANBUL (AA) – Inmates at a prison in Iran staged a riot on Sunday night over fears of a coronavirus outbreak at the facility, local media reported.

According to Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), the protest broke out at 10 p.m. (1730GMT) in two sections of Adel Abad Prison in Iran’s south-central city of Shiraz.

The inmates damaged fences and surveillance cameras before the riot was quashed by security personnel, ISNA quoted Sayyid Kazem Mosevi, chief public prosecutor of the southwestern Fars province, as saying.

No casualties or escapes were reported in the incident.

Over recent weeks, there have been similar riots over coronavirus fears at prisons in Italy, Colombia, and Thailand.

The COVID-19 death toll in Iran rose to 2,640 on Sunday, after the Health Ministry reported 123 more fatalities.

The ministry also confirmed 2,901 new cases since Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 38,309.

The number of cases worldwide since last December is now over 724,000, with the death toll above 34,000 and more than 152,000 recoveries, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz