Prisoners demand release during war

Evin Prison, October 2022 – A deadly fire broke out during a crackdown on inmates inside the facility. The incident left multiple prisoners dead or injured amid widespread accusations of a state cover-up and negligence. According to the report, the Iranian regime prevented ambulances from entering, and dozens were killed by gunfire

Political prisoners held in Evin, Greater Tehran and Qarchak prisons have issued an urgent joint statement, invoking Article 211 of the Islamic Republic’s wartime directive. The regulation—passed during the Iran–Iraq war—permits the temporary release of non-dangerous inmates during emergencies to safeguard human life.With growing threats of military escalation and evacuation warnings for Tehran, the prisoners demand immediate implementation of this law. They warn that continued detention in unsafe, overcrowded prisons under threat of war is equivalent to a death sentence.

Key demands in the statement

• Immediate release of political and conscience prisoners under wartime law
  
• Evacuation from high-risk prison wards, especially those lacking fire safety and emergency exits
  
• Restoration of phone contact with families and legal representatives
  

International intervention to prevent an impending humanitarian disaster

The prisoners cite the recent deadly events in Dizel-Abad Prison (Kermanshah) as a chilling example of what could follow in other facilities.

Following structural damage caused by nearby blasts, inmates attempted to flee to safer areas within the compound. In response, prison guards opened fire, resulting in at least 15 prisoners killed and dozens wounded, according to independent reports.

This statement also recalls two infamous precedents:

• The 1988 prison massacre, when thousands of political detainees—many held in Evin—were summarily executed behind closed doors.
  
• The October 2022 fire at Evin, where official cover-ups masked the scale of deaths and injuries after a fire and armed crackdown tore through the facility.
  

“These events prove that the regime does not protect those it detains. If war reaches Tehran, prisoners will be left to burn or be buried under rubble,” the statement reads.

A call from behind the walls

Families of political prisoners, deeply alarmed, demand urgent international pressure to secure the immediate and unconditional wartime release of detainees—before another irreversible tragedy occurs.

“Bombs don’t recognize innocence. The world must act before history repeats itself in silence.”