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A30 world news
Diamars 24 augustus 2021

Leaked footage shows grim conditions in Iran’s Evin prison

(AP) — The guard in a political prisoners,” read a out the stamp show guards
control room at Iran’s message from the online ac- wearing facemasks, signaling
notorious Evin prison count to the AP in Dubai. they came amid the corona-
springs to attention as one virus pandemic.
by one, monitors in front Iran, which has faced criti-
of him suddenly blink off cism from the United Na- Though there is no sound in
and display something tions special rapporteur over the videos, they speak to the
very different from the its prison conditions, did not grim world faced by prisoners
surveillance footage he immediately respond to a re- at the facility. One sequence
had been watching. quest for comment sent to its shows what appears to be an
U.N. mission in New York. emaciated man dumped from
“Cyberattack,” the monitors Iranian state media in the a car in the parking lot, then
flash. Other guards gather country have not acknowl- dragged through the prison.
around, holding up their mo- edged the incident at Evin. Another shows a cleric walk-
bile phones and filming, or ing down the stairs and pass-
making urgent calls. ”Gen- However, several embarrass- ing by the man, without stop- in 1988 at the end of the Iran- Western fears over Tehran’s
eral protest until the freedom ing hacking incidents have ping. Iraq War. program — is widely suspect-
of political prisoners” reads struck Iran amid ongoing ed to have been an American
another line on the screens. tensions over its accelerated Guards in another video are “The Evin prison is a stain and Israeli creation.
nuclear program and as talks seen beating a man in a pris- on Raisi’s black turban and
An online account, purport- with the West over reviving oner’s uniform. One guard white beard,” the message on Evin prison was built in 1971
edly by an entity describing the atomic accord between sucker-punches a prisoner the screens in the prison con- under Iran’s Shah Moham-
itself as a group of hackers, Tehran and world powers re- in a holding cell. Guards also trol room also read. mad Reza Pahlavi. It housed
shared footage of the inci- main on hold. fight among themselves, as political prisoners then and
dent, as well as parts of other do the prisoners. Many are Iran, long sanctioned by the later, after the 1979 Islamic
surveillance video it seized, Four former prisoners at crammed into single-room West, faces difficulties in get- Revolution swept the shah
with The Associated Press. Evin, as well as an Iranian cells. No one wears a face- ting up-to-date hardware and from power.
The alleged hackers said the human rights activist abroad, mask. software, often relying on
release of the footage was an have told the AP that the Chinese-manufactured elec- While in theory under the
effort to show the grim con- videos resemble areas from The account that shared the tronics or older systems. The control of Iran’s prison sys-
ditions at the prison, known the facility in northern Teh- videos with the AP calls itself control room system seen in tem, Evin also has specialized
for holding political prison- ran. Some of the scenes also “The Justice of Ali,” a ref- the video, for instance, ap- units for political prisoners
ers and those with ties abroad matched photographs of the erence to the Prophet Mu- peared to be running Win- and those with Western ties,
who are often used as bar- facility previously taken by hammad’s son-in-law who dows 7, for which Microsoft run by the paramilitary Rev-
gaining chips in negotiations journalists, as well as images is revered by Shiites. It also no longer provides patches. olutionary Guard, which an-
with the West. of the prison as seen in sat- mocks Iran’s Supreme Lead- That would make it easier for swers only to Khamenei. The
ellite photos accessed by the er Ali Khamenei. a potential hacker to target. facility is the target of both
In one part of the footage, AP. Pirated versions of Windows U.S. and European Union
a man smashes a bathroom It claimed to have “hundreds” and other software are com- sanctions.
mirror to try to cut open his The footage also shows rows of gigabytes of data from mon across Iran.
arm. Prisoners — and even of sewing machines that pris- what it described as a hack After Iran cracked down on
guards — beat each other oners use, a solitary confine- conducted several months In recent months, Iran’s rail- protesters following the dis-
in scenes captured by sur- ment cell with a squat toi- ago. It did not answer ques- road system was targeted puted 2009 re-election of
veillance cameras. Inmates let and exterior areas of the tions about who was involved by an apparent cyberattack. hard-line President Mah-
sleeping in single rooms with prison. There are images of in the leak. Other self-described hacker moud Ahmadinejad, many of
bunk beds stacked three high the prison’s open-air exercise groups have published details the arrested protesters ended
against the walls, wrapping yard, prisoners’ bathrooms The account linked the tim- about Iranians alleging hack- up in Evin. Lawmakers later
themselves in blankets to stay and offices within the facility. ing of its leak to the recent ing on behalf of the theocracy. pushed for reforms at Evin,
warm. election of Iranian President Meanwhile the most-famous following reports of abuses
Much of the footage bears Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line cyberattack — the Stuxnet at the prison — which led to
“We want the world to hear timestamps from 2020 and acolyte of Khamenei involved virus that destroyed Iranian the installation of the closed-
our voice for freedom of all this year. Several videos with- in the execution of thousands centrifuges at the height of circuit cameras.

Deadly gunfire at airport; Taliban insist on US pullout date

(AP) — A firefight out- seized by opponents the day evacuation beyond Aug. 31,
side Kabul’s international before and had surrounded the date he had set for com-
airport killed an Afghan Panjshir, the last province pleting the pullout of U.S.
soldier early Monday, that remains out of their con- forces. British Prime Min-
highlighting the perils of trol. ister Boris Johnson plans to
evacuation efforts even as Afghanistan’s security forces press Biden for an extension.
the Taliban warned any collapsed in the face of the
attempt by U.S. troops to Taliban advance, despite 20 But Taliban spokesman Su-
delay their withdrawal to years of Western aid, training hail Shaheen, in an interview
give people more time to and assistance. Tens of thou- with Sky News, said Aug. 31
flee would “provoke a re- sands of Afghans have sought is a “red line” and that ex-
action.” to flee the country since, tending the American pres-
fearing a return to the brutal ence would “provoke a reac-
The shooting came as the rule the Taliban imposed the tion.”
Taliban moved to shore up last time they ran Afghani-
their position and eliminate stan. That has led to chaos at Gunfire broke out early
pockets of armed resistance the airport in Kabul, the main Monday near an entrance
to their lightning takeover route out of the country. to the airport, where at least
earlier this month. The Tal- seven Afghans died a day ear-
iban said they retook three U.S. President Joe Biden has lier in a panicked stampede of
districts north of the capital not ruled out extending the thousands of people.