Israeli strike damages Tehran's Evin Prison, families report chaos
LONDON -- Families of prisoners in Tehran's Evin Prison have been sharing accounts from their loved ones after a strike by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday damaged parts of the prison.
While the Monday strike was described in some reports as "symbolic," the Iranian judiciary news agency confirmed that "parts of the prison have been damaged."
A video published Tuesday by Iranian Tasnim News Agency shows a damaged area of the prison. Fars News agency reported that a doctor at the prison clinic was killed.
Evin is the largest prison in Iran for political prisoners and crimes related to national security in the country. There have been reports of human rights violations, including torture and forced confessions at the facility. It is not exactly clear how many inmates were inside the facility at the time of the strike, nor the number of injured or killed.
Ahmad Ghadyani wrote in a post in X that his father, Abulfazl Ghadyani, a political prisoner held at Evin, called him to describe the damage to the prison.
Abulfazl Ghadyani, 64, has been charged with propaganda against the Iranian regime, according to his family."My father called from Evin Prison. Evin Prison has been attacked and all the windows in the ward have been broken ... Does the government really want to keep so many political prisoners, many of whom are sick, in prison? What kind of crime and stupidity is this?" Ahmad Ghadyani wrote.
According to the HRANA news agency, an NGO that advocates for human rights in Iran, the prison's telephones have been cut off in most wards and restricted in others. It also reported that prisoner visits have been canceled until further notice.
Samar Fatemi, a prominent Iranian journalist, condemned the Israelis on her X account. "Israel bombed Evin Prison!… A defenseless and confined prisoner who doesn't have many facilities, what will happen to him now with this situation?"
The IDF confirmed it targeted the prison, among other locations, in Tehran on Monday, calling it a "symbol of oppression for the Iranian people."
The war between Israel and Iran began June 12 when Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran that included dozens of military targets, including the country's nuclear program. Defending what it called a "preemptive" strike, Israel cited intelligence that it said indicated Iran had "significantly advanced" toward obtaining a nuclear weapon -- claims Iran denied.
Samar Fatemi, a prominent Iranian journalist, condemned the Israeli on her X account. "Israel bombed Evin Prison!… A defenseless and confined prisoner who doesn't have many facilities, what will happen to him now with this situation? Damn the war and damn Israel."
Speaking Monday, French President Emanuel Macron criticized the targeting of the prison, according to a report in Le Monde, saying it had nothing to do with Israel's "stated objectives" of destroying Iran's nuclear program and that it endangered civilians.
