'A slow death': Israeli strike on Iran's Evin Prison sparks fear for dissidents

Sayeh Seydal, a jailed Iranian dissident, narrowly escaped decease erstwhile Israeli missiles struck Tehran's Evin Prison, wherever she was imprisoned. She had conscionable stepped retired of the prison's clinic, moments earlier it was destroyed successful the blasts. 

The June 23 strikes connected Iran's astir notorious situation for governmental dissidents killed astatine slightest 71 people, including staff, soldiers, visiting household members and radical surviving nearby, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said Sunday.

In the ensuing chaos, authorities transferred Seydal and others to prisons extracurricular of Tehran — overcrowded facilities, known for their harsh conditions. 

When she was capable to telephone her household respective days ago, Seydal pleaded for help.

"It's virtually a dilatory death," she said of the conditions, according to a signaling of the telephone provided by her relatives, successful accordance with Seydal's wishes.

"The bombing by the U.S. and Israel didn't termination us. Then the Islamic Republic brought america to a spot that volition practically termination us," she said. 

Activists fearfulness Israel's attacks volition pb to crackdown

Iran's pro-democracy and rights activists fearfulness they volition wage the terms for Israel's 12-day aerial run aiming to cripple the country's atomic program. Many present accidental the state, reeling from the breach successful its security, has already intensified its crackdown connected opponents.

Israel's onslaught connected Evin — targeting, it said, "repressive authorities" — spread panic among families of the governmental prisoners, who were near scrambling to find their loved ones' fates. A week later, families of those who were successful solitary confinement oregon nether interrogation inactive haven't heard from them. 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a seasoned activistic who has been imprisoned aggregate times successful Evin, said that Iranian society, "to get to democracy, needs almighty tools to reenforce civilian nine and the women's movement."

"Unfortunately, warfare weakens these tools," she said successful a video connection to The Associated Press from Tehran. Political abstraction is already shrinking, with information forces expanding their beingness successful the streets of the capital, she said. 

Fears of looming executions

Many present fearfulness a imaginable question of executions targeting activists and governmental prisoners. They spot a terrifying precedent: After Iran's warfare with Iraq ended successful 1988, authorities executed astatine slightest 5,000 governmental prisoners aft perfunctory trials, past buried them successful wide graves that person ne'er been accessed.

Already during Israel's campaign, Iran executed six prisoners who were sentenced to decease earlier the war. 

The Washington-based Human Rights Activists successful Iran (HRA) documented astir 1,300 radical arrested, astir connected charges of espionage, including 300 for sharing contented connected societal media successful conscionable 12 days.

Iran's parliament is fast-tracking a measure allowing greater usage of the decease punishment for charges of collaboration with overseas adversaries. The judiciary main called for expedited proceedings against those who "disrupt the peace" oregon "collaborate" with Israel. 

Prisoners scattered aft the strike

Evin Prison, located successful an upscale neighbourhood connected Tehran's bluish edge, housed an estimated 120 men and women successful its wide wards, arsenic good arsenic hundreds of others believed to beryllium successful its secretive information units nether interrogation oregon successful solitary confinement, according to HRA.

The prisoners see protesters, lawyers and activists who person campaigned for years against Iran's authoritarian rule, corruption and spiritual laws, including enforcement of Islamic attire connected women. Authorities person crushed repeated waves of nationwide protests since 2009 successful crackdowns that person killed hundreds and jailed thousands.

The strikes deed Evin during visiting hours, causing daze and panic.

Seydal, an planetary instrumentality student who joined protestation movements implicit the past 2 decades and has been successful and retired of jailhouse since 2023, recounted to her household her adjacent brushwood with decease successful the situation clinic. The blast knocked her to the ground, a comparative who spoke to Seydal said, speaking connected information of anonymity for fearfulness of reprisals. 

Visiting halls, the prosecutor's bureau and respective captive wards were besides heavy damaged, according to rights groups and relatives of prisoners. One rocket deed the situation entrance, wherever prisoners often are sitting waiting to beryllium taken to hospitals oregon court. 

"Attacking a prison, erstwhile the inmates are lasting down closed doors and they are incapable to bash the slightest happening to prevention themselves, tin ne'er beryllium a morganatic target," Mohammadi said. Mohammadi was conscionable released successful December erstwhile her latest condemnation was concisely suspended for aesculapian reasons. 

During the night, buses began transferring prisoners to different facilities, according to Mohammadi and families of prisoners. At slightest 65 women were sent to Qarchak Prison, according to Mohammadi, who is successful interaction with them. Men were sent to the Grand Tehran Penitentiary, lodging criminals and high-security prisoners. Both are located southbound of Tehran.

Mohammadi told AP that her contiguous fearfulness was a deficiency of aesculapian facilities and mediocre hygiene. Among the women are respective with conditions needing treatment, including 73-year-old civilian rights activistic Raheleh Rahemi, who has a encephalon tumour. 

In her telephone call, Seydal called Qarchak a "hellhole." She said the women were packed unneurotic successful isolation, with nary hygiene care and constricted nutrient oregon drinkable water. 

"It stinks. Just axenic filth," she said.

Seydal, 47, was archetypal sentenced successful 2023. In aboriginal 2025, her furlough was cancelled, and she was assaulted by information and faced caller charges aft she refused to deterioration a chador astatine the prosecutor's office.

A member disappears

Reza Younesi's begetter and younger brother, Ali, person some been imprisoned astatine Evin for years. Now the household is terrified due to the fact that Ali has disappeared.

Ali, a 25-year-old postgraduate of a prestigious method university, was serving a 16-year condemnation for "colluding to perpetrate crimes against nationalist security." The sentence, wide criticized by rights groups, was reduced but past the Intelligence Ministry launched a caller lawsuit against him connected chartless charges.

Days earlier the onslaught connected Evin, Ali was dragged retired of his ward and taken to an chartless location, according to his brother. 

After the strike, their father, Mir-Yousef Younesi, saw nary motion of Ali arsenic helium and different prisoners were transferred to the Great Tehran Penitentiary. The begetter managed to get a telephone retired to his family, successful a panic.

Disappearances successful Evin are not uncommon. Guards sometimes region governmental prisoners from wards for interrogation. In immoderate cases, they are sentenced successful concealed trials and executed.

Reza Younesi said the household lawyer was incapable to find retired immoderate accusation astir his member oregon the caller charges.

"We are each worried," helium said, speaking from Sweden wherever helium is an subordinate prof astatine Uppsala University. "When determination is nary accusation from a prisoner, this astir successful each cases means that the idiosyncratic is nether interrogation and torture." 

'All anticipation is gone'

Mehraveh Khandan grew up successful a household of governmental activists. She spent overmuch of her puerility and teen years going to Evin to sojourn her mother, rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was imprisoned determination aggregate times.

Her father, Reza Khandan, was thrown into Evin successful December for distributing buttons opposing the mandatory headscarf for women.

Now surviving successful Amsterdam, the 25-year-old frantically tried to find accusation astir her begetter aft the strike. The net was chopped off, and her parent had evacuated from Tehran. "I was conscionable reasoning who mightiness dice there," she said. It took 24 hours earlier she got connection her begetter was OK. 

In a household telephone later, her begetter told however helium was sleeping connected the level successful a crowded compartment rife with insects astatine the Grand Tehran Penitentiary. 

At first, she thought the Evin onslaught mightiness punctual the authorities to merchandise prisoners. But aft seeing reports of wide detentions and executions, "all this anticipation is gone," she said.

The warfare "just destroyed each the things the activists person started to build," she said.