Tehran: The human rights organization Amnesty International called on Tuesday for an investigation into the Israeli attack on Iran's notorious Evin prison around four weeks ago, labeling it as a possible war crime.
According to Ghana News Agency, Amnesty International emphasized that under international humanitarian law, a prison or place of detention is presumed to be a civilian object. The organization reported that there is no credible evidence suggesting that Evin prison constituted a lawful military objective. The Israeli Air Force targeted several areas within the detention center in Tehran during its brief conflict with Iran, describing the attack as a symbolic strike against the Iranian government.
Activists and former inmates have voiced concerns that the attack jeopardized the lives of political prisoners. The Iranian judiciary has reported that at least 71 people were killed in the bombing. Amnesty International estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners were present during the air strikes, including political prisoners and foreigners who had been convicted in controversial trials.
The ongoing conflict led the Iranian judiciary to transfer numerous inmates to other prisons. In some instances, families remain uninformed about the whereabouts of their relatives. Evin Prison is notorious for serious human rights violations. Additionally, Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir revealed on Tuesday that 27 prisoners who escaped during the chaos following the attacks are still at large. Out of the 75 inmates who fled, 48 have been recaptured, as reported by the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
