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Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a war crimes investigation into Israel’s deadly air attack on Tehran’s Evin prison during last month’s 12-day war.The strike, confirmed by Israel, killed 79 people, according to a provisional tally by Iranian authorities.It also destroyed part of the administrative building in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals.Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organisation that campaigns to protect human rights, called the Israeli attack “deliberate” and “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.The air strikes should therefore be “criminally investigated as war crimes”, it said.”The Israeli military carried out multiple air strikes on Evin prison, killing and injuring scores of civilians and causing extensive damage and destruction in at least six locations across the prison complex,” Amnesty said, basing its assessment on what it said were verified video footage, satellite images and witness statements.There was nothing to suggest that Evin prison could justifiably be seen as a “legal military objective”, it said.The strike on Evin was part of a bombardment campaign Israel launched on Iranian targets on June 13 with the stated aim of stopping the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapon capabilities.The victims of the June 23 attack included administrative staff, guards, prisoners and visiting relatives, as well as people living nearby. Between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners were being held at the time in the prison.Among them were Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals arrested three years ago accused of espionage.They were not injured in the attack, their families said, and have since been transferred to a different location.France, and other western governments, consider them and others to be “hostages” taken by the Iranian authorities for leverage in negotiations.

Swapping his monk’s habit for overalls and a sun hat, Father Christian-Marie knelt alongside volunteers in the freshly dug earth, planting grape vines to replace those damaged by wildfires that swept through central Israel earlier this year.Wine production at Latrun monastery dates back 135 years, when the French monks first arrived. Cultivating fruit is central to both their spiritual practice and livelihood.The monks say the wildfires that broke out in late April damaged about five hectares (12 acres) of vineyard — roughly a third of their crop.Undeterred, the monks called for help, drawing dozens of volunteers who busied themselves digging holes and planting stakes under the blazing sun.Father Christian-Marie, who has spent almost 28 years at the monastery, said planting fresh vines symbolised optimism for the future.”For me, it’s quite important when I live here in this monastery to pray for peace,” he told AFP.”To plant a vineyard is a sign of hope, because if we thought that tomorrow the land will be bombed and will not exist, we wouldn’t do this work,” he added.Working in a pensive hush, volunteers carried trays of sapling vines to be planted in long rows in a patch of the monastery’s land untouched by the flames.Robed monks handed out stakes and delicately pressed the plants into the earth.”Planting is something exciting, you plant and it will grow. It will give fruit, and the fruit will give wine. And wine will make the heart of the human happy,” said Noga Eshed, 74, a volunteer from Tel Aviv.For her, the exercise signified a reconnection with nature.”I see people touching the ground, the earth. And it’s not very common. We are very disconnected these days,” she added, trowel in hand.Eshed, who has volunteered at the monastery on previous occasions, said the brothers there were “good friends”.Latrun’s monks are Trappists, a Roman Catholic order centred on contemplation and simplicity.- ‘In God’s hands’ -Fanned by high temperatures and strong winds, wildfires spread rapidly through wooded areas along the main Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway on April 30.The flames travelled right up to the edge of Latrun monastery, prompting the evacuation of the 20 or so brothers who live there.”It was very hard because we are not used to getting out of our monastery and we have some very old brothers,” Brother Athanase told AFP.The monks initially feared it had burned down, he added, but the monastery was spared although swathes of its agricultural land were destroyed.As well as vineyards, Latrun has around 5,000 olive trees, of which roughly 1,000 were entirely burnt down to the root in the blaze.Brother Athanase estimated that around 70 percent of the olive trees were in some way damaged and would take around four years to recover.Last year the monastery produced three tonnes of olive oil, but “there’ll be no production this year”, he said.”It’s difficult for us because we are living off our production… but we are not afraid because life is always growing up,” he added with a slight smile, surrounded by scorched earth.He was grateful for the assistance provided by the volunteers and said it was important “to know that people like monks in the Holy Land”.Climate change is driving up temperatures, decreasing precipitation and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events in Israel.Standing in the newly planted vineyard, Father Alois said he hoped the monastery would not face a blaze as devastating in the future but that the monks were now better prepared after installing a new water system.Ultimately, he said, “we are in God’s hands”.

Deep in the mountains of Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province, bordering Iran and Iraq, Kurdish livestock owners and farmers have gradually returned with their animals after decades of armed conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish army.”We’ve been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago we used to come and go, but then we couldn’t come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want,” said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep’s neck to keep it from moving during shearing.On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics — part of a broader effort to end one of the region’s longest-running conflicts.The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds’ liberation. It took up arms in 1984.The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Alongside with several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet).A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations.But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. “In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd,” another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, told AFP, rejecting such claims. “Now it’s calmer,” he added.- ‘Last generation’ -Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction.”Life is quite good and it’s very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on,” said farmer Mahir Irinc.But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city.”I don’t think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don’t want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier,” he lamented.An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village.”We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I’m preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick,” explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis.”I told my mother: don’t do this anymore, because it’s so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There’s nothing else,” she said.

Egypt is poised to adopt a new law aimed at overhauling the judicial process, but human rights groups warn it could entrench long-standing abuses including arbitrary detention, travel bans and expedited trials.The legislation, currently awaiting approval by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is being promoted by the government as a step toward streamlining legal procedures, from arrest to trial.Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has told the UN Human Rights Council it would bring a “legislative revolution to criminal justice” in Egypt.Ihab al-Tamawy, the head of the parliamentary subcommittee charged with drafting the new code, told AFP it “introduces a set of new guarantees” on Egypt’s notorious pretrial detention system, as well as the role of the public prosecution.But critics say the bill risks codifying repressive practices that have long eroded due process in the country.According to rights defenders, the law expands the powers of police and prosecutors and limits the role of defence lawyers, undermining judicial oversight and the right to a fair trial.In one of the new provisions that have come under scrutiny, public prosecutors will be able to order travel bans without a warrant “in cases of emergency”.The law will also allow police to enter homes without an arrest warrant in cases of “distress” or “danger”, which are not clearly defined.In April, UN rights chief Volker Turk “raised concerns” over the law and called on Sisi to “consider carefully” before signing it into force, “to ensure that it fully complies with Egypt’s international human rights obligations”.- Right to fair trial -Egypt currently ranks 135th out of 142 countries on the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index.In the latest UN review of its rights record in January, Egypt faced accusations of “systemic and widespread” rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearances and unfair trials.In recent years, Egypt has been accused of formalising into normal law exceptional measures previously allowed in states of emergency.According to prominent human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, the law “does not truly combat corruption, expands the powers granted to the police and prosecution and undermines the role of defence lawyers,” which he said is “essential to a fair trial”.Along with 15 other independent lawyers, Ali submitted 176 proposed amendments to the law, none of which were adopted.Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt researcher at Amnesty International, told AFP the bill “codifies practices that were already taking place outside the boundaries of the law, and grants them legitimacy in an attempt to improve Egypt’s image”.According to Karim Ennarah, research director at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the new changes will come at the expense of investigations, defendants and their lawyers.Under the new law, defence lawyers can be denied access to case files and witnesses — “practices already common, but that will now become legal,” Ennarah said.- ‘Recycling’ -The law will also expand remote trials, which Ennarah describes as “rushed” virtual hearings, where dozens of jailed defendants are corralled behind a screen on a video call with a judge.Remote trials “undermine two fundamental principles of a fair trial”, according to Ennarah, namely “the defendant’s right to meet privately with their lawyer, and their right to appear before a judge” to assess any harm or abuse inflicted upon them.Egypt is routinely criticised for the widespread use of pretrial detention, a phenomenon that proponents say is addressed under the new law.While the maximum period for remand detention will be reduced from 24 to 18 months, Amnesty International has warned the law “provides no safeguards against abusive prolonged pretrial detention”.According to Shalaby, many of Egypt’s estimated tens of thousands of political prisoners are victims of a practice known as “recycling” detainees.Under the much-maligned “revolving door policy”, prisoners are often handed new charges instead of being released, restarting the clock on their remand period.Another issue, he says, is that when the law goes into effect, citizens will no longer be able to sue “in case of violations during their arrest or detention”.In 2024, EIPR documented 10 cases of torture-related deaths in detention facilities.Rights groups regularly report cases of medical neglect, abuse and overcrowding in Egyptian prisons.

The ceasefire that ended Iran’s 12-day war with Israel has held for nearly a month without incident, but many Iranians remain uneasy, struggling with uncertainty as fears of another confrontation linger.”I don’t think this ceasefire will last,” said Peyman, a 57-year-old resident of Shiraz in Iran’s south, one of numerous cities hit last month as Israel unleashed an unprecedented bombing campaign against its staunch rival.The Israeli offensive targeted key nuclear facilities and military sites, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists and hundreds of other people, while also wreaking havoc in some residential areas.The attacks triggered the fiercest fighting in history between the longtime foes, ending with a ceasefire announced on June 24.But Israel has signalled it could return to fighting if Iran attempts to rebuild nuclear facilities or carry out any actions deemed a threat, such as moving to develop an atomic bomb — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied it was pursuing.Iran, in turn, has vowed to deliver a harsh response if attacked again.Nuclear diplomacy with the United States — which briefly joined the war with strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites — has stalled, deepening a sense of uncertainty about what lies ahead.”I am scared the war would start again,” said Hamid, a 54-year-old government employee who gave only his first name.”It will lead to the death of more innocent people and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure.”During the war, Israel struck major Iranian cities including the capital Tehran, hitting military sites, government buildings and the state television headquarters.More than 1,000 people were killed in Iran, according to authorities. Retaliatory missile and drone attacks killed 29 people in Israel.- ‘Don’t want to flee again’ -Many residents fled Tehran, seeking refuge in other parts of the country, even though few regions were untouched by the blasts and smoke-covered skies.Nearly a month later, a series of fires that broke out across Iran in recent days — including one at a major oil facility — have triggered speculations which officials were quick to dismiss, denying any acts of sabotage.”This war really frightened me,” said 78-year-old housewife Golandam Babaei, from the western Kermanshah province.She lived through the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, a painful memory for many of her generation.”I kept telling myself, please God, do not let the past repeat itself,” Babaei told AFP.The war with Israel, although much shorter and fought mostly with air strikes and missiles rather than by ground forces, revived grim memories of the conflict with Iraq.That war, triggered by an Iraqi invasion in 1980, killed an estimated 500,000 people on both sides.It featured chemical warfare and prolonged front-line bombardments, scarring Iranians in the then-nascent Islamic republic born out of the 1979 revolution.Since then, for decades, Iran had managed to keep conflicts away from its territory. But now after the 12-day war with Israel, some Iranians feel a profound sense of vulnerability.”I kept thinking I don’t want to flee again, we have nowhere to go. I cannot run to the mountains like the past,” said Babaei.- Uncertain future -For Ali Khanzadi, a 62-year-old war veteran, the conflict with Israel highlighted a change compared to the 1980s when “we didn’t have any advanced military equipment” to fight the Iraqis.Khanzadi, who was wounded in battle in 1983, said that the war with Israel, while much shorter, had a more sinister dimension.Unlike in the past, modern military technology means “they can kill a child in his sleep remotely using a drone,” he said.In the face of the Israeli threats and attacks, Iranian authorities have repeatedly invoked national unity.Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the offensive was aimed at toppling the Islamic republic’s clerical system, and urged Iranian diplomats and military officials to proceed with “care and precision” as the country cautiously moves on.Tehran has said it remained open to nuclear diplomacy with the United States which the war had derailed, but officials have expressed concerns over renewed attacks and demanded unspecified US guarantees to resume negotiations.Ordinary Iranians appear to share fears that the conflict could erupt again.”I hope that this will not happen,” said Hamid.Babaei said she was praying “for peace, for us to remain safe in our homes”.