The Americans Held in Iran's Notorious Evin Prison

A fire ripped through Iran's notorious Evin prison, where political prisoners and anti-government protesters are being held, Saturday night.

Four inmates died from smoke inhalation before at the Tehran prison before the blaze was extinguished, state media said Sunday.

Inside were protesters arrested during weeks of demonstrations about the death of death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, allegedly for how she wore her hijab.

American citizens, including one only returned to the prison last week, and a U.S. resident are reportedly held within the complex.

The U.S. State Department has said it is monitoring the events "with urgency."

"We are in contact with the Swiss as our protecting power," Ned Price wrote on Twitter, referencing an agreement for Switzerland's embassy in Tehran to help citizens of the U.S., which is not otherwise currently represented in Iran.

"Iran is fully responsible for the safety of our wrongfully detained citizens, who should be released immediately."

Here, Newsweek takes a look at the Iranian-Americans, whose U.S. citizenship is not recognized by Iran, and U.S. residents held in Iran.

Emad Shargi

Shargi, an American-Iranian, was arrested in April 2018 and held in Evin Prison for eight months.

He was released on bail that December, and later cleared of all spying and national security charges. But his passport was withheld and he was not allowed to leave Iran, according to the U.S. Institute of Peace.

He was arrested again in late 2020 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges without a trial.

His family say he has been held in Evin Prison since April last year without being allowed visitors or access to legal counsel.

"He is trapped in terrible conditions during a deadly pandemic and is being refused a vaccine," his two daughters wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. "We have no way of knowing how he is, except for a couple of short, monitored phone calls."

Siamak Namazi

The Iranian-American businessman was arrested in 2015 and convicted of espionage-related charges in 2016.

Both Namazi and his father, Baquer, are being held in Evin Prison.

"My father has been handed practically a death sentence. Siamak's only crime has been to speak out against the negative effects of sanctions," Namazi's brother Babak said in 2016, referring to an op-ed Namazi wrote for The New York Times in 2013.

Namazi's lawyer Jared Genser said he had been released on a one-week furlough on October 1. But he was was forced to return to Evin prison on Wednesday after members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps informed him that his furlough would not be extended.

"He is safe and has been moved to a secure area of Evin Prison," Genser said in a tweet early Sunday. Genser has been contacted for further comment.

Shahab Dalili

Dalili, an Iranian citizen and permanent resident of the U.S., was arrested and imprisoned in 2016 while he was in Tehran for his father's funeral.

Dalili and his family had recently immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Gainesville, Virginia before he was detained in Tehran.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "aiding and abetting" the U.S., his wife Nahid Dalili has said.

Earlier this year, she called on the Biden administration to include her husband in any potential prisoner swaps.

"If there is a deal, if they are trying to release the hostages, then all the hostages should be free," she told NBC News. "The Biden administration shouldn't leave Shahab behind. He is a permanent legal resident, and all of his family are citizens."