Key Takeaways:
- Over 400 eye injuries from gunshots have been documented in a single hospital in Tehran, with medical staff struggling to cope with the toll of the violent crackdown on protests.
- Iranian authorities are accused of deliberately targeting protesters’ eyes and heads with gunshot wounds, a tactic also used in the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
- The death toll from the protests has surpassed 2,000, with over 16,700 people arrested, and is expected to rise.
- Doctors believe the true number of dead is likely much higher than current numbers, with many wounded patients arriving at hospitals after the internet shutdown.
- Medical staff are working in challenging conditions, with limited access to blood, medical supplies, and emergency services.
Introduction to the Crisis
The situation in Iran has taken a devastating turn, with an ophthalmologist in Tehran documenting over 400 eye injuries from gunshots in a single hospital. The medical staff is struggling to cope with the toll of the increasingly violent crackdown on nationwide protests by Iranian authorities. The protests, which started on December 28 over a sudden dip in the value of the country’s currency, have turned into the country’s biggest anti-government protest movement since 2009. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across the country each night, chanting anti-government slogans such as "death to the dictator", a reference to the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Brutal Crackdown
The protests have alarmed authorities, who have responded with a brutal crackdown. On Thursday night, they shut off internet and mobile access in the country, cutting the Iranian people off from the rest of the world. Rights groups have accused the government of exploiting the media blackout to carry out a brutal crackdown against protesters. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the protests, with over 16,700 people arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). The death toll is expected to rise, with doctors saying that the true number of dead is likely much higher than current numbers.
Deliberate Targeting of Protesters
Doctors in Iran have reported that the types of injuries they are seeing suggest that authorities are deliberately targeting protesters’ eyes and heads. The Tehran doctor described the injuries as "deliberate" and said that many patients had to have their eyes removed and were blinded. Rights groups have also accused authorities of using shotguns firing metal pellets and rifles with live ammunition against protesters. The evidence suggests that authorities are using these tactics to terrorize protesters and prevent them from participating in future demonstrations.
Challenging Conditions for Medical Staff
Medical staff in Iran are working in challenging conditions, with limited access to blood, medical supplies, and emergency services. The network shutdown has prevented doctors from reaching other doctors and emergency services, making it difficult for them to provide adequate care to patients. The doctor from Tehran described medical staff working in conditions similar to a war zone, with patients being treated on the ground outside in freezing temperatures due to lack of space in hospital wards. The doctor said that his colleagues are "very distressed, tired and horrified" and are breaking down in tears.
Government Response
The Iranian government has accused protesters of being behind the violence, rather than its own security forces. The government has released videos of what it said were foreign saboteurs and protesters beating police officers, as well as gunmen from a Sunni militant group killing a police chief and mosques being ransacked. However, protesters who managed to evade the communications blackout said that they witnessed authorities targeting peaceful protesters. A 20-year-old protester described how things quickly turned deadly after the intervention of security officers, with protesters being shot point blank from behind.
Continued Protests
Despite the brutal crackdown, protests continued into their 17th day, with crowds numbering in the thousands filling the streets each night. Doctors cautioned, however, that while images of protests managed to make it out of the country, the world was vastly underestimating the death toll in Iran. The physician who left Iran told the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran that "the images and data broadcast by the international media do not represent even one per cent of the reality, because the information simply does not reach them." The doctor described the scenes in the hospital as a "mass-casualty situation" with facilities, space, and personnel far below the number of injured people arriving.