Evin Prison

Evin is Iran's most notorious detention facility, located in the hills of northern Tehran. Built in 1972 under the Shah, it became the Islamic Republic's primary site for holding political prisoners, journalists and dual nationals after the 1979 revolution. Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was among its most prominent inmates. Ward 209 operates under direct intelligence ministry control for the most sensitive political and security cases.

Iran's special forces (NOPO) seized Evin during the 2026 conflict, forcibly transferring prisoners while detainees in multiple wards resisted. The intelligence ministry separately emptied Ward 209, relocating its most sensitive political and security detainees to undisclosed locations under bombardment.

The wartime seizure and Ward 209 evacuation revealed the regime's priorities: political prisoners were secured before civilian shelter provision. Tehran's nine million residents had no bomb shelters or siren system; Ward 209 was emptied first. The disappearance of high-profile detainees into unknown facilities also eliminated the limited consular access that had previously served as a diplomatic lever.

Evin sits structurally distinct from Qezel Hesar Prison, where wartime executions of protest-era detainees have been carried out. Evin's role during the conflict has been prisoner removal and political isolation rather than execution; the Hengaw casualty-monitoring network, which built its methodology tracking Mahsa Amini protest detentions, now applies the same verification framework to both facilities. Iran's 60-day internet blackout (1,440+ cumulative hours by 28 April 2026) has made independent verification of prisoner conditions at both Evin and undisclosed relocation sites impossible.