The Israeli military’s deliberate air strikes on Evin prison in Tehran on 23 June 2025 constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law and must be criminally investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said today, following an in-depth investigation.
Verified video footage, satellite imagery and interviews with eyewitnesses, prisoners’ families and human rights defenders indicate that the Israeli military carried out multiple air strikes on Evin prison, killing and injuring scores of civilians and causing extensive damage and destruction in at least six locations across the prison complex. The attack took place during the working day, at a time when many parts of the prison were packed with civilians. Hours later, the Israeli military confirmed it had attacked the prison and senior Israeli officials boasted about it on social media. According to the Iranian authorities, at least 80 civilians – 79 men and women and a five-year-old boy – were killed.
Under international humanitarian law, a prison or place of detention is presumed a civilian object and there is no credible evidence in this case that Evin prison constituted a lawful military objective.
“The evidence establishes reasonable grounds to believe that the Israeli military brazenly and deliberately attacked civilian buildings. Directing attacks at civilian objects is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. Carrying out such attacks knowingly and deliberately constitutes a war crime,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.
Human rights defenders and protesters among those held in Evin prison
It is believed that Evin prison held around 1,500-2,000 prisoners at the time of the attack, including arbitrarily detained human rights defenders, protesters, political dissidents, members of persecuted religious minorities, and dual and foreign nationals frequently held for diplomatic leverage. At any given time, there were also hundreds of other civilians in the prison complex. The attack took place during prison visitation hours.
“The Israeli forces should have known that any air strikes against Evin prison could result in significant civilian harm. Prosecution authorities around the world must ensure that all those responsible for this deadly attack are brought to justice, including through use of the principle of universal jurisdiction. The Iranian authorities must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over all Rome Statute crimes committed on or perpetrated from its territory, said Erika Guevara Rosas.
An overview of Evin prison, with the exterior walled perimeter marked in orange. The six yellow circles highlight areas with the most significant destruction, indicating these were the locations where the munitions landed. The blasts and resulting damage extended beyond the six areas.
A map of Evin prison indicating building names or functions based on Amnesty International’s interviews with former prisoners.
Scores of civilians killed and injured
Between 11am to 12pm Tehran time on 23 June 2025, Israeli air strikes hit multiple locations over 500 metres apart inside Evin prison, destroying or damaging numerous buildings and other structures within the prison complex, as well as nearby residential buildings outside the complex.
Evin prison is located in a populated area with residential buildings to its east and south. A nearby resident described the scene following the attack to Amnesty International:
“I suddenly heard a terrible sound. I looked out of the window and realised that smoke and dust were rising from Evin prison. Both the sound of the explosion and the appearance of the dust and smoke were horrific… I had thought our home would be safe [as] we are near a prison… I couldn’t believe it.”
The authorities have so far named 57 civilians who were killed in the attack including five female social workers, 13 young men performing mandatory national service as prison guards or administrators, and 36 other prison staff – 30 men and six women – and the child of one of the social workers. After drawing public criticism for failing to disclose the identities of prisoners, their relatives and nearby residents killed, the authorities published a report on 14 July 2025 revealing two names: a nearby resident – Mehrangiz Imanpour – and a woman volunteering to help raise funds for debt prisoners – Hasti Mohammadi. Amnesty International had already verified the name of Mehrangiz Imanpour, as well as the names of one prisoner, Masoud Behbahani, a prisoner’s relative, Leila Jafarzadeh, and a passerby Aliasghar Pazouki, who were also killed.
Israeli officials’ self-incriminating admissions
Within hours of the attack, senior Israeli officials boasted about it on social media, framing it as a “targeted strike” against a “symbol of oppression for the Iranian people.”
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said on X that Israeli forces were attacking with “unprecedented force regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran including…Evin prison.”
Minutes later, Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted on X: “We warned Iran time and again: stop targeting civilians! They continued, including this morning. Our response: [Long live freedom…].” Alongside this post was a video purporting to show CCTV footage of the prison gate being blown up. Analysis of the video by Amnesty International indicates the footage was digitally manipulated likely using an old photograph of the prison gate. The video was first posted on Persian-language Telegram channels, but Amnesty International could not trace its original source.
Later the same day, the Israeli military confirmed in a statement that they had carried out “a targeted strike” on “the notorious Evin Prison”. The statement appeared to justify the attack by saying that “enemies of the regime” were held and tortured there and alleging that “intelligence operations against the State of Israel, including counter espionage” were carried out in the prison. However, the interrogation of detainees accused of spying for Israel or the presence of intelligence officials within the prison compound would not render the penal facility itself a legitimate military objective under international humanitarian law.
Read the full extended press release on our international website.
