Inside the deadliest strike of Israel on Iran

“For me, hell was not the moment when Israel attacked; hell was the moment when they would not open the door (of the cell) for us,” recalls Motahareh Goonei in an exclusive interview with the BBC.

Political activist, Goonei was in solitary isolation in the notorious of Iran’s prison when she was struck in an attack targeted by Israel on June 23.

Satellite imagery, witness accounts and verified images obtained by the BBC News Persian reveal new details of the attack at the end of the War of Israel-Iran and those who died.

The high security complex, perched at the northern end of Tehran, has held thousands of political prisoners during the last half century. That day in June, prison became the most deadly Israeli strike site on Iranian soil in terms of civilian victims.

Iranian authorities say that 80 people have been killed – including prison staff, detainees, medical workers, visitors and residents of neighboring neighborhoods.

In a report published on August 14, Human Rights Watch said that Israeli prison air strikes were illegally blind and equivalent to an apparent war crime.

Israeli defense forces (FDI) said that the reason for the attack was that the installation was “used for intelligence against Israel”.

Describing the moment when the explosions torn the compound, Goonei said: “When I heard the third explosion, I was sure there was no way. I just got the door of all my strength, but that wouldn’t open. I thought” that it was the end of your life – say goodbye “.

Released from his cell by another prisoner, Goonei stumbled in thick and muffled smoke. She says that the guards initially tried to prevent prisoners from escaping, and some prison interrogators have even threatened them.

However, in scenes which she described as “horrible but humanist”, the prisoners rushed to help the wounded guards, soothing a panicked officer and hiding the wounds of a crying questioner.

Other detainees from another room rushed to help doctors and nurses trapped in the prison clinic.

Saeedeh Makarem, a doctor who was seriously injured in the strike, wrote later on Instagram: “The very treated prisoners saved my life.”

Another woman held in Evin, speaking under the cover of anonymity due to fears about her safety, described the moment of the BBC attack.

“At the beginning, there were several explosions in rapid succession, and the noise lasted for about two minutes.

“We stayed on our beds at the beginning because the windows had broken, then we dressed and all helped bring older women below. No one in prison helped us – they closed the door and said that we could not go out.”

The BBC analysis indicates that Israel attacked Evin with at least six projectiles, damaging at least 28 buildings inside the complex.

The FDI says that it had made a “targeted strike” on “a symbol of oppression against the Iranian people” and said that measures had been taken to minimize the damage to civilians.

But a parent of a political prisoner who arrived to visit only a few minutes after the explosions said: “Those who came out of the prison said that there were bodies everywhere. Some prisoners had come out, none of them trying to escape – just amazed.”

Iranian authorities say 75 detainees fled during chaos. Some were then taken over or returned voluntarily.

Iranian officials say that out of the 80 people killed during the attack, 42 ​​were prison staff and five detainees. Only staff names have been released.

BBC News Persian has independently verified the identity and circumstances surrounding the death of three of the victims through interviews with their loved ones. They are:

• Masoud Behbahani, a double Iranian-American citizen, who was detained for financial accusations. His family received contradictory stories from his death of the organization of Iranian prisons.

• Arvin Mohammadi, 37, killed in the administrative building while depositing the temporary liberation of his father in prison during the war

• Mehrangiz Imanpour, 61, an eminent artist and painter, killed by bursts of shells

Among the other victims killed in the attack, there was a local mother of a one -year -old child, a philanthrope visiting to organize a prisoner release, five social workers, 13 young military conscripts and the five -year -old child of one of the social workers.

After the attack on Evin prison, the fate of transgender detainees remains unknown. Some media reports have said that 100 transgender detainees had been killed, but BBC Persian’s investigation reveals that this is not true.

Reza Shafakhah, a lawyer in Iran who followed the situation of transgender detainees, told the BBC: “There are serious concerns about their situation. No one knows where these prisoners are now.”

Israel allegedly alleged that the prison was used for “intelligence operations (against it), including counterintelligence”. He did not answer BBC questions on the targets or exact weapons used, or if she provided civil deaths.

One month after the attack, Amnesty International published a report on the incident.

“The achievement of attacks on civilian objects is strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Make such attacks knowingly and deliberately constitutes a war crime,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, principal director of research, plea, policies and campaigns at Amnesty.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said Evin was “not a military objective” and that the attack violated international humanitarian law.