London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jan 10, 2026

Hackers leak security footage of abuse inside Iran's notorious Evin prison

Hackers leak security footage of abuse inside Iran's notorious Evin prison

The surveillance video shows inmates fighting, being hit by guards and dragged along the floor, and in one scene smashing a bathroom mirror in an attempt to use the glass to self-harm.
Hackers have leaked soundless security camera footage from inside Iran's notorious Evin prison showing the brutal treatment of inmates.

The surveillance video shows inmates fighting, being hit by guards and dragged along the floor, and in one scene smashing a bathroom mirror in an attempt to use the glass to self-harm.

One clip shows the hacker group taking control of monitors in the prison control room, flashing a message stating "Evin prison is a stain of shame on Raisi's black turban and white beard" and calling for "nationwide protests to release political prisoners".

Ebrahim Raisi, the new president of Iran, is a hardline cleric who is subject to US sanctions for alleged human rights abuses, with accusations against him including presiding over a torture regime in Evin prison and ordering mass executions.

His victory means hardliners will have full control over all branches of government in Iran for the first time in almost a decade, after ultra-conservatives took a majority in last year's parliamentary elections.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the head of Iran's prison organisation, Mahammad Mehdi Has Mohammadi, confirmed the authenticity of the leaked security camera footage.

Accepting responsibility for the "unacceptable behaviour", Mr Mohammadi committed to dealing seriously with the offenders and, according to a translation by Al Jazeera, wrote: "I also apologise to God, our dear supreme leader, the great nation and the honourable prison guards, whose efforts will certainly not be ignored due to these errors."

Evin prison is notorious for hosting political prisoners, including many dual-nationals and citizens of Western countries, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

The UN's special rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, has criticised Evin for the abuse prisoners suffer there and warned that "prisoners of conscience and political prisoners have contracted COVID-19" while interred.

Ms Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic was freed last year in a prisoner swap for three Iranians being held in Thailand following a failed bombing in Bangkok in 2012.

Earlier this year British officials downplayed reports that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was set to be released from prison after Iranian state TV suggested Britain would pay a £400m debt to secure her release.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of the British-Iranian charity worker, said the family had not been updated but welcomed the signals from Tehran over the long-running dispute as "a good sign".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
×