The head of a United Nations investigation said Monday that an Israeli airstrike on a prison last year constituted a war crime and warned of risks of increased repression after recent bombings by the US and Israel.
More than 70 people were killed when Israel struck Tehran's Evin prison in June last year during an air war with Iran, according to Iranian authorities. The prison, known for holding political prisoners, has also been damaged by recent US and Israeli airstrikes, raising concerns for the prisoners, including a British couple.
“We found reasonable grounds to believe that, by carrying out the airstrikes on Evin prison, Israel committed the war crime of deliberately targeting a civilian object,” Sara Hossain, head of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, said in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. She said 80 people were killed, including one child and eight women.
Its latest report, based on interviews with victims and witnesses, satellite images and other documents, was presented to the Council on Monday.
Israel has withdrawn from the council, which documents abuses and conducts investigations, leaving its seat vacant. There was no immediate response to requests for comment from the prime minister's office, the Foreign Ministry or the military.
Hossain condemned the rise in civilian casualties in Iran and expressed concern that the current bombing campaign could push Iran to crack down even harder on domestic opposition, citing the increase in executions following last year's attacks.
"The main lesson from our investigations in this context is clear: military actions from abroad do not bring accountability or meaningful change. On the contrary, they risk intensifying internal repression," she said.
Mai Sato, the UN-appointed human rights expert on Iran, also expressed concern for prisoners, including those arrested during mass protests in January. Families have been unable to contact their relatives, while food and medicine in prisons are becoming increasingly scarce, she said.
Iran's ambassador, Ali Bahreini, called for condemnation of the US and Israeli attacks, which he said have killed more than 1,300 people in Iran.
