Louis Arnaud, former French hostage in Iran, describes Evin prison as 'the den of evil'
Louis Arnaud, a French national held in Iran's Evin prison from 2022 to 2024, describes the facility as 'the den of evil,' recounting severe psychological and physical dehumanization. He was arrested during a global trip and accused of involvement in protests following Mahsa Amini's death, which he denies. Despite isolation and harsh conditions, Arnaud found resilience through interactions with fellow prisoners and inner resistance. He now advocates for Iranian voices and raises awareness about injustices within the country's prison system.
- ▪Louis Arnaud was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards in September 2022 and held in Evin prison until June 2024.
- ▪He was accused of participating in protests after Mahsa Amini's death, though he maintains his innocence.
- ▪Arnaud described Evin prison's Section 209 as a place of constant psychological torture, with unrelenting light and degrading conditions.
- ▪While imprisoned, he discovered a poem inscribed by fellow French detainee Cécile Kohler, creating a powerful moment of human connection.
- ▪Arnaud's experiences led him to write 'La Résistance Intérieure,' emphasizing inner strength and solidarity among political prisoners.
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Europe Europe News {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.euronews.com"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Europe","item":"http:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Europe News","item":"http:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/europe-news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Louis Arnaud, former French hostage in Iran, describes Evin prison as 'the den of evil'"}]} Louis Arnaud, former French hostage in Iran, describes Evin prison as 'the den of evil' Louis Arnaud, former French hostage in Iran, was imprisoned from September 2022 to June 2024. - Copyright Louis Arnaud Copyright Louis Arnaud By Estelle Nilsson-Julien Published on 28/04/2026 - 15:07 GMT+2 Share Comments Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp Copy/paste the article video embed link below: Copied Speaking to Euronews, Louis Arnaud says the memories of Evin Prison continue to haunt him, as he recalls a place where captives are crammed into windowless cells and where the lights never go out. Frenchman Louis Arnaud spent two years behind bars inside Tehran's Evin prison, a place notorious for torture and executions, following his arrest by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on 28 September 2022. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Recounting his experiences in an interview with Euronews, he remembered a place he described as "the den of evil," stressing the exceptionally inhumane conditions inside section 209, the block which houses political and foreign prisoners. Aged 35 at the time of his incarceration, Arnaud's round-the-world trip was cut short when he was accused of taking part in the mass protests that broke out against the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody, after being arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Arnaud has always maintained his innocence. The memories of Evin prison continue to haunt Arnaud, as he recalls a place where captives are crammed into windowless cells and where the lights never go out. "The lights dissolve any notion of time passing; they constantly search your body. In your cell, there's nothing; it's devoid of everything. You eat, you live, you sleep on the floor. They took us out for a walk like animals once a week, blindfolded, to get 20 minutes of fresh air and that's it," Arnaud told Euronews. A torture designed to intensify psychological pressure on detainees, "all this dehumanisation and extreme pressure in prison never stopped, even when you were asleep. The goal was to force out fantasy espionage confessions." The entrance of Evin Prison in Tehran, 24 August, 2008 CC BY-SA 2.0/Ehsan Iran Although Louis Arnaud pleaded his innocence to Iranian judges, it was to no avail. It was a similar story for Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris: the last French hostages officially held by the Iranian regime, who returned to France on 8 April after several months of house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran. Although Arnaud, Kohler and Paris were all incarcerated in the same prison, they never crossed paths, except for one indirect encounter. "We would only receive news when a new inmate arrived from outside or another changed cells. But on my last night in prison, I was thrown into a cell I'd never seen before, where I found a poem [by French poet Gérard Nerval]…
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