Humanitarian Catastrophe in Evin: An Opportunity for Further Pressure and Repression by the Judiciary
29-June-2025
Category: Prisoners
29 June 2025
News Group: Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement – Following the Israeli missile strike on Evin Prison on 2 Tir, at least 71 people have lost their lives and an unknown number have been injured. Despite the scale of the disaster, the judiciary continues to withhold a transparent report on the humanitarian and legal dimensions of the incident, neglecting its responsibility for the lives of the prisoners.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, the judiciary’s spokesperson, Masoud Jahangir, stated that parts of the prison — including the infirmary, engineering building, visitation hall, and prosecution unit — were among the targets hit. He added that on the day of the incident, a number of prisoners’ families who were present for visits or to follow up on the status of their relatives were killed by the blasts. Several administrative staff, conscripted soldiers, and even civilians living near the prison were also among the dead.
Despite the passage of several days since this humanitarian catastrophe, the judiciary has so far refused to provide a clear report on the condition of the prisoners who were transferred or on those whose whereabouts and status remain unknown. This lack of accountability and blatant disregard has heightened the concerns of families and human rights organisations, and it highlights how the crisis is being exploited to exert further pressure on detainees and intensify their repression.
The judiciary, as the body responsible for protecting the lives and dignity of prisoners, is obliged to immediately take effective and transparent measures to ensure their safety, grant them leave, and provide accurate information about their condition. In the current critical situation, the judiciary’s silence and ambiguity amount to a dereliction of legal and moral duty. Emphasising the Israeli attack on the prison cannot conceal the judiciary’s negligence and malicious intent to escalate pressure on prisoners.
As of the time of this report, there is no information on the health or whereabouts of Ali Younesi, Arghavan Fallahi, Motahareh Gonaei, Ahmadreza Djalali, Bijan Kazemi, and others.
While the foreign aggression — condemned by many and described by Amnesty International as potentially constituting a war crime — deserves scrutiny, it must not be used to mask the judiciary’s deliberate abuse and intention to further suppress prisoners.