Fears Rise for Political Prisoners Held in Iran as Conflict Deepens
Fears are rising for political prisoners in Iran, including a Nobel Laureate jailed with other activists for challenging the regime under military attack by the United States and Israel.
“History has shown that the Islamic Republic has repeatedly and systematically exploited war to escalate violence against political prisoners,” the Paris office of 2023 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Narges Mohammadi said in a statement shared with TIME.
The Narges Foundation said it was “profoundly concerned” about Mohammadi, who, after being arrested in December while protesting the suspicious death of a fellow activist, is currently jailed in Zanjan, a city northwest of Tehran that was shaken by a massive explosion on Saturday.
Read more: Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader Who Built a De Facto Military Dictatorship, Killed in U.S.-Israeli Strikes
Many more political prisoners are detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, which Israel bombed during its 12-day assault on Iran last June. The attack, which came during visiting hours, involved eight strikes and killed at least 80 people, including prisoners and social workers, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch. Israel’s defense minister said Evin was targeted as a site of “government repression.”
After the latest U.S. and Israeli airstrikes began on Saturday, families of prisoners gathered at the gates, but were given no information, according to Iran Human Rights Society, which advocates for prisoners. The group said it had reports that some staff had abandoned the prison, and food was not being distributed to some wards.
“My heart is breaking for my mom and every soul held behind the prison walls now more than ever,” Mohammadi’s daughter, Kiana Rahmani, said in the statement. “They are trapped between the cruelty of a brutal regime and the terrifying thunder of explosions outside.”
Not least because of the activists they house, Iran’s prisons have a history of making headlines. Mohammadi, who formerly worked as a journalist, wrote an insider account of a large fire that broke out in Evin during the 2023 protests sparked by the death of a young woman arrested for violating Iran’s strict dress code for women. Her foundation noted reports of food shortages and diminished medical care at two other prisons, Qezelhesar and Lakan.
“There is also grave concern that, amidst continued blackout, death sentences may be carried out in secrecy without notification to lawyers or families of detainees.” In 2025, Iran hanged more than 2,000 people, which one human rights researcher termed “an execution spree unseen in decades.”