Amnesty Demands War Crimes Investigation into Israeli Airstrike on Iran’s Evin Prison

Amnesty Demands War Crimes Investigation into Israeli Airstrike on Iran’s Evin Prison
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Amnesty International has called for a war crimes inquiry into Israel’s deadly airstrike on Tehran’s Evin Prison during last month’s 12-day conflict, France 24 reported. The attack, acknowledged by Israel, reportedly killed 79 people according to preliminary Iranian government figures.

The strike also severely damaged part of the administrative building within Evin, a large, heavily secured facility in northern Tehran known to house political detainees and foreign nationals, according to human rights organizations.

Amnesty International described the Israeli attack as “deliberate” and a “serious breach of international humanitarian law.” The group urged that the airstrikes be “criminally investigated as war crimes.”

The assault on Evin was part of a broader Israeli campaign launched on June 13 targeting Iran’s top military officials, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment facilities, and ballistic missile programs. Israel’s stated goal was to prevent Iran from fulfilling its declared intent to destroy the Jewish state. Casualties from the June 23 attack included prison staff, guards, inmates, visiting family members, and nearby residents. At the time, between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners were held at Evin.

Among the detainees were Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals arrested three years prior on espionage charges. Their families reported they were unharmed in the attack and have since been relocated.

France and other Western governments regard these detainees and others as “hostages” held by Iranian authorities to gain leverage in negotiations.

Iranian officials have stated that 27 inmates remain at large. The initial reports indicated that 75 prisoners escaped, but most have been recaptured.