Sarah Hussain, head of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, announced that the Israeli airstrike on Evin Prison in Tehran last year amounts to a war crime. The UN official explained during a session at the Human Rights Council on Monday that investigations proved the deliberate targeting of a civilian facility housing hundreds of detainees, which places the attack within the framework of grave violations of international humanitarian law.
The latest UN report revealed horrific details of the attack that occurred last June, with the mission confirming the deaths of 80 people, including one child and eight women, as a result of direct shelling. These findings were based on a comprehensive documentation process that included extensive interviews with survivors, injured individuals, and eyewitnesses, as well as a precise analysis of satellite imagery and field documents that showed the extent of the destruction at the prison, known for holding political opponents.
In a related context, the international mission warned that the continuation of current military operations and aerial bombardment exacerbates the risks of internal repression in Iran. Sarah Hussain pointed out that previous experiences have shown that external military interventions do not lead to accountability or positive change, but rather provide authorities with a pretext to escalate executions and crackdowns on the opposition, which was indeed observed after last year's strikes.
For her part, May Sato, the UN expert on human rights in Iran, expressed deep concern over the fate of detainees inside the damaged prisons, including those arrested during popular protests earlier in the year. Sato confirmed that incoming reports indicate a severe shortage of food and medical supplies, as well as a complete قطع of communication between prisoners and their families, which doubles the suffering of detainees' relatives, including foreign nationals.
The Human Rights Council witnessed a notable Israeli absence, as Israel decided to withdraw from the session and leave its seat vacant, a move that reflects its rejection of the investigations conducted by the Council regarding its violations. This stance comes at a time when international pressure is increasing to document the effects of aerial military operations on civilian infrastructure in the region and ensure the protection of the most vulnerable groups in detention centers.
In an intervention before the United Nations, Iranian Ambassador Ali Bahreini called on the international community to explicitly condemn the aerial attacks launched by international and regional powers on his country. Bahreini noted that the death toll from these operations has exceeded 1,300, considering that international silence regarding the targeting of civilian facilities encourages the continued violation of international laws without deterrence.
There is international concern about the fate of dual-national detainees, including a British couple held in Evin Prison, which suffered severe damage to its structures and roofs. Human rights organizations are demanding the provision of safe corridors for the International Red Cross to inspect the conditions of prisoners and ensure their physical safety amid ongoing military tensions that threaten the lives of civilians and detainees alike.
We found reasonable grounds to believe that Israel, by carrying out airstrikes on Evin Prison, committed a war crime by deliberately directing attacks against a civilian object.
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UN Report Accuses Israel of War Crime Following Attack on Evin Prison in Tehran