
In this undated frame grab taken from video shared with The Associated Press by a self-identified hacker group called "The Justice of Ali," a guard looks at surveillance screens taken over by the group, at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran. The alleged hackers said the release of the footage was an effort to show the grim conditions at the prison, known for holding political prisoners and those with ties abroad who are often used as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. The caption on the screens reads in Farsi: "Cyberattack: Evin prison is a stain on (Iranian President Ebrahim) Raisi's black turban and white beard. General protest until the freedom of political prisoners."
"Cyberattack," the monitors flash. Other guards gather around, holding up their mobile phones and filming, or making urgent calls. "General protest until the freedom of political prisoners" reads another line on the screens.
An online account, purportedly by an entity describing itself as a group of hackers, shared footage of the incident, as well as parts of other surveillance video it seized, with The Associated Press. The alleged hackers said the release of the footage was an effort to show the grim conditions at the prison, known for holding political prisoners and those with ties abroad who are often used as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.














Comment: Conditions in US prisons are not much better, in fact they are likely even worse; and at least Iran can claim that its country is under siege in the form of Western starvation sanctions, what's the US' excuse? Meanwhile Julian Assange's treatment in Britain's Belmarsh prison has been described as torture by a UN rep. So, whilst it is necessary to highlight Iran's failings, they're not exclusive to Iran. Which leads one to ask: why the hack and why the leak? Who was really behind it?
That the prison is already a target of sanctions, that the supposed hackers appear to be concerned with political prisoners who are also of interest to the West, and that surely Iranian hackers have more pressing grievances against their government, points to Israel and the US as the most obvious suspects. They also just so happen to be amongst the most skilled and equipped for cyberwarfare operations: