News accounts have given different explanations and different death tolls.
The death toll has variously been given as nine or 14.
As for the cause of the uprising, news accounts have said:
• The men were attempting a mass escape;
• There was a brawl among inmates;
• The prisoners were holding a protest against the growing number of executions.
State TV said the uprising involved mostly men on death row after drug trafficking convictions. It said no one escaped.
The uprising erupted last Tuesday night, which was Chaharshanbeh Souri, the traditional night of bonfires in Iran. The daily Khorasan said the prisoners set fires inside the jail to create disruption and aid an escape plan.
The human rights website Herana said the uprising was a protest by 3,000 inmates over the execution of 10 prisoners recently. It said the uprising had nothing to do with any escape attempt.
