PARIS: An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran on Monday is completely irresponsible and puts prisoners “in mortal danger”, said Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is jailed there.
Iran’s judiciary said Israeli strikes left sections of the facility damaged and Israel’s defence minister confirmed the army was targeting it.
Cecile Kohler has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris in Evin since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject.
Overall, Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.
Most are held in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses.
It is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital.
“This strike is completely irresponsible. Cecile, Jacques and all the prisoners are in mortal danger,“ Noemie Kohler told AFP.
“This is really the worst thing that could have happened,“ she added.
“We have no news, we don’t know if they are still alive, we’re panicking,“ Noemie Kohler said.
She urged the French authorities to “condemn these extremely dangerous strikes” and secure the release of the French prisoners.
She also expressed concern about the risk of “chaos” and “riots”.
Noemie Kohler has tirelessly campaigned to secure the release of her sister and her sister’s partner Jacques Paris.
Chirinne Ardakani, a lawyer for the Kohler family, denounced the strikes as “illegal”.
“The risk of riots, general confusion and reprisals by the security forces against the insurgent prisoners raises fears of bloodshed,“ she told AFP.
“Both sides are playing with people’s lives.”
The Iranian judiciary’s website, Mizan Online, said that the prison buildings remained “under control.”
