Those who are concerned that Trump is unleashing chaos in Iran ought to explain the nature of a regime in which prison guards lock the doors, flee, and leave the prisoners to starve to death. Perhaps it is time to replace the guards?
The situation in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison is critical, say human rights organisations. The leadership appears to have broken down, and many inmates are not receiving food.
Reports suggest that the prison administration has collapsed, and that staff have evacuated wards by locking the doors, writes the foundation of the imprisoned Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in a statement on X.
Access to food and basic necessities has been cut off in several wards, and prisoners are struggling to meet their daily needs, according to the organisation HRS, which is monitoring the situation.
The Narges Foundation states that similar reports have emerged from several prisons in Iran.
Evin Prison has long housed many political prisoners, including the death-sentenced Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali. The prison was attacked by Israel during the twelve-day war last year.
Around 16 foreigners are currently being held in Iranian prisons, many of them accused of espionage or of working for foreign powers. A British couple who were arrested in December 2024 while in transit on a motorcycle were recently sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for espionage. They deny the charges. (NTB)
But the leadership has not collapsed. It is the morality of the regime that is entirely absent. They treat the prisoners with the same ruthlessness as when they shot civilians in the streets. The prisoners’ lives mean nothing. The regime saves itself and lets the population fend for itself.
Let us recall that when Israel/USA bombed Evin Prison so that the doors were torn from their hinges, it was human rights organisations that condemned the bombing as a violation of human rights.