An Iranian official confirmed on Sunday that a recent Israeli military strike on Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran, left at least 71 individuals dead.
According to Mizan, an Iranian news organization, Asghar Jahangir, a spokesperson for Iran’s judiciary, said, “In the attack on Evin Prison, 71 people, including prison administrative staff, conscript soldiers, convicted prisoners, families of prisoners who had visited for meetings or judicial follow-ups, and neighbors living near the prison, were martyred.”
“Unfortunately, in this attack, the Zionists committed a full-fledged crime, and even neighbors living near the visitation hall and judicial office of Evin Prison were severely affected,” Jahangir added.
According to Fox News, the Human Rights Activists in Iran claimed that at least 35 of the individuals killed in the recent Israeli strike against Evin Prison were staff members at the prison and that at least two of the individuals killed were inmates at the prison. The organization claimed that other individuals killed in the Israeli strike included a woman who was at the prison to meet with a judge regarding her imprisoned husband’s case and an individual who was walking near the prison.
READ MORE: Video: Massive intel operation that led to Iran strikes revealed by top Pentagon official
According to The Times of Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz released a statement around the time of its strike against Iran’s Evin Prison on June 23, confirming that the Israel Defense Forces were “currently striking with unprecedented force regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.”
Fox News reported that Israel’s strike against Evin Prison occurred toward the end of the 12 days of strikes the U.S. ally carried out against Iran. According to Fox News, Israel claimed that its strikes targeted over 720 of Iran’s military infrastructure locations and eight of Iran’s nuclear-related facilities and that the strikes eliminated roughly 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists.
Sharing a video of Israel’s strike against Evin Prison on June 23, Matthew Nouriel, an Iranian Jew, tweeted, “Evin Prison’s gate has been blown open—by the IDF. The regime’s most feared symbol of repression—hit.”
“For 45 years, political prisoners and Iran’s greatest minds have been tortured, silenced, and murdered there,” Nouriel added. “Today, that gate fell. The Islamic Republic is cracking. Let it fall.”
Pictures shared Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, by Al Jazeera English show the damage caused at Iran’s Evin Prison following the recent military strikes by the Israel Defense Forces.