Israel’s missile strike on Iran’s Evin prison sparks fear for political prisoners

Iranian dissident Sayeh Seydal narrowly survived an Israeli missile strike on Tehran's Evin Prison. At least 71 people died. Transferred to harsh facilities, Seydal calls conditions “a slow death.” Activists fear further crackdowns amid Israel's campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure

Beirut: Sayeh Seydal, a jailed Iranian dissident, narrowly escaped death when Israeli missiles struck Tehran’s Evin Prison, where she was imprisoned. She had just stepped out of the prison’s clinic, moments before it was destroyed in the blasts.

The June 23 strikes on Iran’s most notorious prison for political dissidents killed at least 71 people, including staff, soldiers, visiting family members and people living nearby, Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said on Sunday.

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In the ensuing chaos, authorities transferred Seydal and others to prisons outside of Tehran — overcrowded facilities, known for their harsh conditions. When she was able to call her family several days ago, Seydal pleaded for help.

“It’s literally a slow death,” she said of the conditions, according to a recording of the call provided by her relatives, in accordance with Seydal’s wishes. “The bombing by the US and Israel didn’t kill us. Then the Islamic Republic brought us to a place that will practically kill us,” she said.

Activists fear Israel’s attacks will lead to a crackdown

Iran‘s pro-democracy and rights activists fear they will pay the price for Israel’s 12-day air campaign aiming to cripple the country’s nuclear programme. Many now say the state, reeling from the breach in its security, has already intensified its crackdown on opponents.

Israel’s strike on Evin — targeting, it said, “repressive authorities” — spread panic among families of the political prisoners, who were left scrambling to determine their loved ones’ fates. A week later, families of those who were in solitary confinement or under interrogation still haven’t heard from them.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a veteran activist who has been imprisoned multiple times in Evin, said that Iranian society, “to get to democracy, needs powerful tools to reinforce civil society and the women’s movement.” “Unfortunately, war weakens these tools,” she said in a video message to The Associated Press from Tehran. Political space is already shrinking with security forces increasing their presence in the streets of the capital, she said.