11 hours ago
In Iran, relatives of detainees express concern after Israeli strike on Evin prison
The footage released on Wednesday, June 25, showed gutted facades, torn metal structures, collapsed walls and piles of shredded furniture and twisted sheet metal – proof of the intensity of the Israeli strikes two days earlier on Evin prison in Tehran, where many political prisoners are held. Iranian authorities have not disclosed any figures on casualties from these strikes on what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as a "symbol of the Iranian regime." Eyewitness accounts suggest the death toll could be high, creating mounting anxiety among friends and relatives of detainees.
"A large number of soldiers performing their military service [at the facility] and prison staff, as well as several ordinary prisoners and civilians who were visiting the Evin court, were killed," reported the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations, which has reliable sources within the prison. "The infirmary, the visiting room, as well as the high-security wards 209 (…) and the Evin court [which handles political cases] were hit and severely damaged. The women's [political] prisoners' ward was also struck." Evin houses about 70 female political detainees and some 300 political prisoners in total.