Louis Arnaud, former French hostage held at Iran's Evin prison: 'It's not only a prison that's been reduced to ashes, but the bastion of resistance'

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ot a breath of air rises from the walls of Evin prison, destroyed by the blind fury of Israeli bombs. How could it? There is no water, no infirmary, no administration, no guard post. The large gate, once so feared, has been pulverized and dissolved into thin air. The first two floors of Wing 4, where the political prisoners were held, were blown away by the explosion. The guard post has been destroyed.

So has the library, that treasure trove of knowledge patiently accumulated, book by book, over decades of resistance. The works of Plato and Aristotle, the verses of Persian poets, classical literature, swept away, buried under the rubble. Even Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), the only book in French, the one that had welcomed me like a friend when I emerged from the hell of Section 209, now lies beneath the rubble.

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Weakened by war with Israel, the Iranian regime ramps up repression