FRANCE24
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Iranian security forces carried out a violent crackdown on November 26 on farmers who had been peacefully protesting the redirection of a vital river in the town of Isfahan for several weeks. Dozens of protesters lost an eye or sustained head injuries. Photos and eyewitness accounts, including those by our Observer, support the theory that security forces aimed and fired directly at people’s faces.
The protest movement began on November 9 when farmers set up tents in the dry riverbed of the Zayandeh Rood, the river that runs through Isfahan, Iran’s third-largest city with more than two million residents. The farmers blame the water shortage on the authorities, who redirected water to the neighbouring province of Yazd. They are also angry that local industries draw from the river, which contributes to a sharp reduction in water levels. The farmers also want authorities to open the region’s dams to release more water.
The authorities tolerated the protests for two weeks. Journalists from Iran’s public television channel even interviewed protesters.
But on the night of November 25, security forces began a brutal crackdown – first setting the protesters’ tents on fire. The morning of November 26, riot police and the Basijis, militiamen from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, moved in, attacking protesters. Security forces released tear gas and beat protesters with batons. Some also used pump-action shotguns – which can be used with both bullets or nonlethal projectiles.
تیراندازی مستقیم به سوی معترضین.
اصفهان ۵ آذر pic.twitter.com/UVFQeYIxuM— +۱۵۰۰تصویر (@1500tasvir) November 27, 2021
This video was filmed on November 26 in Isfahan. It shows security forces using shotguns.
Although pump-action shotguns can be used with so-called nonlethal projectiles like rubber bullets, if they are fired in close proximity to the target then they can cause serious injury or even death.
In Isfahan, the guns were loaded with shrapnel and hundreds of people were injured when security forces fired directly at people’s faces. Many victims lost one or both eyes. Some of these victims were younger than 18.
‘They intentionally targeted people’s heads’
Darya (not her real name) is a doctor in Isfahan. She was in contact with many of the people injured in the protests:
I can confirm that all of the injuries that I saw were on the upper body and most were head injuries. There were lots of people who had eye injuries or were blinded. That’s what happens when the order is given to use nonlethal weapons but also to end a protest the same day. So I think that orders like that really give the security forces a green light to do what they want.
“Forty people with eye injuries came to the hospitals. Twenty-one of those people were hospitalised, two in intensive care,” said Nourrodin Soltanian, the spokesperson for Isfahan hospitals, on Fars News, a media with close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, on November 28.
‘Most of the wounded avoid going to the hospital for fear of being arrested’
Darya said:
We have absolutely no idea how many people were injured or who lost eyes, but one thing that I am sure about is that the number of casualties is much higher than the official count.
Since November 26, dozens of people have contacted me to look for a doctor or surgeon who can remove shrapnel from their bodies without recording their names. Most of the wounded avoid going to the hospital for fear of being arrested.
If the wounds aren’t too deep and they’re on a part of the body that isn’t too risky, they can be treated at home. But if the injury is complicated, doctors can treat them at a hospital by recording the patient’s name with a different medical intervention, to protect them. Only those who had very serious injuries, or who panicked after they were injured, went directly to the hospital.
Many other doctors’ accounts confirm these observations. Doctors and families of victims have shared many images clearly showing eye injuries.
News of this violent crackdown prompted a wave of support online. Many Iranians took to Twitter or Instagram to post photos of themselves with one eye covered or hidden.
‘People are feeling profound hatred’
Darya continued:
A lack of training amongst the security forces could be one factor explaining this situation, but the number of head injuries is so high that I am convinced that the security forces intentionally aimed at people’s heads. And this isn’t the first time.
About a decade ago, farmers in Isfahan protested for the same reason – water from the river was being diverted to another region. The security forces cracked down on them in a similar way and people sustained similar injuries.
Human rights organisations and doctors reported that security forces went to the hospitals to arrest injured protesters. On November 29, at least 214 protesters were arrested, 13 of whom were minors, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. The Iranian police only reported 167 arrests.
Our Observer concludes:
The original protest was about water. However, the protesters have changed their slogans since the violence carried out by the security forces. Now they are speaking directly to the government and the Supreme Leader. Now people are feeling profound hatred.
بهترین شعارها رو همیشه از مردم #اصفهان شنیدیم. شعار زیبای این بار:
«اینهمه لشکر آمده، به جنگ رهبر آمده» pic.twitter.com/qOYqENrWHw— Shahrzad (@Schahrzad_b) November 26, 2021
“This army came to fight the Supreme Leader,” the protesters can be heard chanting in this video.
An imam who leads the Friday prayer in Isfahan, Youssef Tabatabai is the local representative for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tabatabai said during a sermon that the protesters deserved the crackdown.
There have been recurrent protests over the past few years about the diversion of the Zayandeh Rood river. An essential part of city life for centuries, this river has now become seasonal and runs dry a large part of the year.
source https://perilofafrica.com/2021/12/witnesses-say-iranian-police-intentionally-targeted-heads-and-eyes-of-protesters-in-isfahan.html