“For me, hell was not the moment when Israel attacked; hell was the moment when they would not open the door [of the cell] For us, “Motarah Goni recall in a special interview with BBC.
A political activist, Goni, was in solitary imprisonment in Iran’s notorious Evin Jail, when it was killed on 23 June in an attack by Israel.
The satellite imagery, witness accounts and verified footage received by BBC News Persian discovered new details of the attack and death of those in the concluding hours of the Israeli-Iran war.
The high-protection complex on the northern bank of Tehran has placed thousands of political prisoners in the last half century. On that day in June, the jail became the site of the deadliest Israeli strike on the Iranian land in the case of civilian casualties.
Iranian officials say 80 people were killed – among them jail staff, prisoners, medical workers, visitors and residents of nearby areas.
In a report published on 14 August, Human Rights Watch stated that Israeli aerial attacks on prison were illegally indiscriminately indiscriminate and for a clear war crime.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said the reason for the attack was that the feature was “used for intelligence against Israel”.
‘No way’
Describing the moment explosions erupting through the premises, Goni said: “When I heard the third explosion, I was sure that there was no way. I just pounded at the door with all my strength, but it would not open. I thought ‘this is the end of your life – say goodbye’.”
Another prisoner, free from his cell, stumbled into thick, knee smoke. She says that the guard initially tried to stop the prisoners from escaping, and some jail inquiries also threatened them.
Nevertheless, in the scenes he described as “frightening but human”, the prisoners ran to help the injured guards, calm a nervent female officer and tied the wounds of the crying interrogative.
Other prisoners from another ward raced to help doctors and nurses trapped in the jail clinic.
Saydeh Makram, a doctor who was badly injured in the strike, later wrote on Instagram: “The prisoners I had treated once saved my life.”
Another woman held in Evin has described the moment of attack to the BBC, speaking on the condition of anonymity for her safety for her safety.
“At first there were several explosions in quick succession, and the noise lasted for about two minutes.
“We stayed on our bed for the first time because the windows were shattered, then we were wearing clothes and everyone helped bring old women down. Nobody helped us from jail – they closed the door on us and said that we cannot go out.”
Attack level
The BBC analysis indicates that Israel attacked Evin with at least six projector, which damaged at least 28 buildings inside the premises.
The IDF says that it operated the “targeted strike” on the symbol of harassment against the Iranian people and claimed that measures were taken to reduce the loss to the citizens.
But a relative of a political prisoner who arrived to travel only a few minutes after the blasts, “People coming out of jail were saying that there were bodies everywhere. Some prisoners had come out, none of them were trying to run away – just stunned.”
Iranian officials say 75 prisoners fled during anarchy. Some were later voluntarily removed or returned.
Identification of victims
Iranian officials say that out of 80 people killed in the attack, 42 ​​were jail staff and five prisoners. Only employees’ names have been released.
BBC News Persian has independently verified the identity and circumstances around the deaths of three of the victims through interviews with their relatives. they are:
- Masaud Behaghani, a dual Iranian-American citizen, who was being held on financial charges. His family was given conflicting accounts of his death from the organization of Iranian jails.
- 37 -year -old Arvin Mohammadi murdered his father from jail during the war, posting bail for temporary release of his father in an administrative building
- 61 -year -old Mehrangiz Imanpore, a lead artist and painter, killed by Chharre
Other victims killed in the attack were a local mother of one -year -old child who was arranging a five -year -old child of a philanthropist, five social workers, 13 young military concentrations, and one of the social activists to arrange the release of a prisoner.
After the attack on Evin Gel, the fate of transgender prisoners is unknown. Some media reports claimed that 100 transgender prisoners were killed, but the BBC Persian investigation shows that this is not true.
Reza Shafkhah, a lawyer from Iran, who is following the position of transgender prisoners, told the BBC: “There are serious concerns about their situation. No one knows where these prisoners are now.”
Why Evin goal?
Israel alleged that the jail was being used for “intelligence operation” [against it]With counter-gesture “. It has not answered questions about accurate goals or weapons from the BBC, or whether it was anticipated by civil deaths.
A month after the attack, Amnesty International published a report in the incident.
“Directing attacks on civil goods is strictly banned under the International Humanitarian Law. Such attacks intentionally and deliberately forms a war crime,” Erica Guevara Rosas, research, advocacy, senior director of the campaign, Erica Guera Ross said.
The United Nations Human Rights Office stated that Evin “was not a military objective” and the attack violated the International Human Law.