A search and rescue effort is under way in southern Iran following the downing of a US F-15 fighter jet – the first in the current war between the US, Israel and Iran. It is not known how many crew members were on board, but Iran’s state media has claimed that its own forces shot down the plane. In the latest update, one crew member from the downed jet has been rescued by US forces, two officials told CBS News.

Following the alleged incident, the anchor on a local channel in Iran’s Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province read the following announcement: “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize.” The current whereabouts and welfare of the remaining crew members are unknown, at a time when reports from international human rights organisations and the UN indicate a severe deterioration in the treatment of all detainees due to ongoing regional military conflicts and internal unrest.

In the wake of huge nationwide uprisings in recent months, the Iranian prison system is reportedly under extreme strain. Human rights reports released last month suggest that the Iranian regime has refused to release political prisoners, even as military strikes occur near detention facilities. In some cases, prisoners have been trapped in locked wards during bombardments, such as at the Mahabad and Fashafouyeh prisons.

According to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), the situation at Fashafouyeh Prison (Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary) is “highly critical”: “Bombardments have destroyed a section of the prison, including its food storage, leaving inmates with a severe shortage of medicine and basic necessities. Prisoners currently receive only one meal a day.

“Fearful of the bombings, many prison officials and guards have abandoned their posts, leaving inmates neglected while the prison store remains closed.

“Under these harrowing conditions, authorities suddenly transferred 50 political prisoners from Evin Prison to Fashafouyeh without prior notice. These individuals were crammed into an unsanitary 20-person room without basic facilities, forcing most to sleep on the floor.”

Iran has a documented history of hostage-taking as statecraft, in which foreign or dual nationals are often arrested on vague security charges. These individuals are then used as bargaining chips in prisoner swaps, according to Harvard Kennedy School in February.

“They create a story that there was suspicious history before the arrest, they pitch this story to the state-controlled media, and by the time you are in prison, everyone thinks you’ve done something bad, or you wouldn’t be here,” Morad Tahbaz, an environmentalist and former political prisoner, said.

Common complaints from recent detainees include prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical care and “coercive interrogations” aimed at extracting televised confessions, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). While Evin Prison, Tehran, may be the most notorious, other facilities are also well-known in Iran for their cruelty.

Located in the southwestern city of Shiraz, Adel Abad Prison was the site of 85 executions in 2024, making it the “second most active prison for executions in Iran,” according to the Human Rights Activists New Agency.

In 2020, the Islamic Republic hanged prominent championship wrestler Navid Afkari, 27, in prison after torturing him following his 2018 arrest. The US sanctioned the prison, citing “incidence of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detentions, and denials of the right to liberty of those seeking only to practice their faith, peacefully assemble, or to express themselves”.

The horrific treatment of captives in Iran is not a new issue, either. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Iraqi POWs in Iran were often subjected to re-education efforts. While some were treated relatively well to encourage them to join anti-Saddam militias, such as the Badr Organization, others faced harsh conditions in overcrowded camps.

Iran is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, which mandate humane treatment. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has frequently reported difficulties in accessing all Iranian camps to monitor POW welfare.

Recent reports also highlight several systematic practices, with some captives transferred to undisclosed locations, leaving families with no information for weeks or months at a time, according to Iran International.

Then, in early March 2026, security forces reportedly used tear gas inside prison wards, including in Mahabad Prison, to quell protests by inmates who were panicking during nearby airstrikes, according to PMOI.