France – France 24, Mar. 04, 2026
French citizen Louis Arnaud was detained in Iran in 2022 and spent nearly two years in the country’s notorious Evin prison. He tells FRANCE 24 why Israeli-US strikes on Iran have brought new dangers for Iran’s prisoners, tens of thousands of whom have been locked up for opposing the regime
Iranian authorities arrested Louis Arnaud in 2022, accusing him of “propaganda” and threatening state security by taking part in protests. His family denied the charges, saying he “kept his distance” from public demonstrations while visiting Iran as a tourist.
His arrest came amid a crackdown on the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement – widespread anti-government protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing a hijab incorrectly and died in police custody.
Arnaud spent nearly two years in Evin prison, where many of the regime’s opponents are incarcerated – including political prisoners, academics and activists – as well as foreign nationals accused of espionage or distributing propaganda.
The prison has, for decades, been a symbol of brutal repression, with detainees facing routine physical and psychological torture and the constant threat of summary execution or forced disappearance.
US and Israeli strikes on Iran this week have brought new dangers and made prisoners one of the country’s most at-risk groups.
Arnaud, author of “La Révolution intérieure” (The Internal Revolution), spoke to FRANCE 24 about his fears that the Iranian regime will use the conflict to crack down even harder on prisoners in a bid to rid itself of internal enemies.
FRANCE 24: Human rights groups are reporting that the conflict in Iran has placed prisoners in great danger – for example, that they not being provided with food and are being refused shelter during Israeli and US strikes. Can your experience put this in context, notably what daily life is like there?
Louis Arnaud: I was held in Ward 209, the Iranian intelligence service’s high-security wing in Evin prison for political prisoners. And it was a slaughterhouse.
People were thrown into cells without windows, without beds, stripped of everything, living under lights that never go out, blurring the notion of time. We were barely fed enough.
And then there was the humiliation and torture to force you to confess what they’ve decided to make you confess to.
