The symbol of the wounded eye; solidarity of Iranian citizens with the injured Isfahan protesters
HRANA News Agency – Following the widespread use of shotguns by security forces to suppress protests by Isfahan farmers and citizens supporting their demands, and the dissemination of images of the injured eyes of these protesters, a number of citizens have come out in support of them on social media. These citizens have published images of themselves with one eye covered, protesting the violence of the security forces in suppressing the protesters and the use of weapons such as shotguns that cause irreparable damage to the eyes, and expressing solidarity with the injured protesters.
According to the HRANA news agency, the news organization of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, a number of citizens have posted pictures of themselves with one eye covered on social media, protesting the violence of security forces in suppressing protesters and the use of weapons such as shotguns that cause irreparable damage to the eye, and expressing solidarity with the injured protesters.
During the Isfahan protests, security forces used shotguns to suppress the protests of Isfahan farmers and citizens supporting their demands. Following this, pictures of protesters with injured eyes were published on social media. At the same time, some doctors and medical personnel reported a high number of visits to medical centers in Isfahan regarding eye injuries in recent days.
According to official sources, at least 19 of the injured in Friday's protests are hospitalized in the ophthalmology wards of medical centers, and the condition of two people was reported to be poor.
An eye specialist and surgeon living in Isfahan said in an interview with HRANA, referring to the official media report: “In just one hospital, the number of visits due to shootings on Friday and Saturday was close to this number. Therefore, it can be said that the number of eye injuries to citizens is several times the 19 cases reported by the official media. The impact of the shotgun pellets on the heads and faces of some patients, given the distances between the pellets, indicates that they were fired from a very close distance, within a few meters, while targeting with this weapon at a distance of more than 30 meters can have irreparable effects if the dense material inside the bullet is lead.”
Skylar Thompson, the external relations officer of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, told HRANA regarding this news: "The organization is deeply concerned by the large number of reports of unnecessary and unusual use of force against citizens during peaceful protests in Isfahan. We call on the Iranian government to respect the right to peaceful assembly and guarantee citizens' exercise of this right, and to refrain from excessive and unlawful use of force against protesters. The authorities must promptly report and investigate all incidents involving the killing or injury of individuals with firearms by security or military forces through an independent administrative or prosecutorial process in accordance with human rights law obligations."
Farmers' protest rallies began on Sunday, November 6, in front of the office of a member of the 11th parliament, the Isfahan Central Broadcasting and Radio Broadcasting building, and the Isfahan Regional Water Company, and eventually spread to the dry bed of the Zayandeh Rood River. Protesting citizens, demanding the allocation of autumn rights and the revitalization of the Zayandeh Rood, had also been sitting at night near the Khaju Bridge.
Finally, on the night of Wednesday, December 23, a number of protesters' tents were set on fire, and the Isfahan prosecutor, while announcing the arrest of a number of people protesting the collection of tents, called them "thugs and thugs." At the same time, the Rokna news agency reported the short-term detention of a number of these people and said that at least two of those arrested were farmers. On Saturday, December 22, HRANA published a report titled "More than 214 Arrested in Isfahan Protests; Summary Report on the Arrest of Protesters and Violence by Security Forces," reporting on the beatings and shooting of protesters and the arrest of at least 214 people, including 13 children.
HRANA had previously addressed this issue in a report titled "Thousands of Citizens Protest in Isfahan Against Lack of Water Supply Management and Non-Allocation of Water Fees."
The use of shotguns by security forces in suppressing protesters is unprecedented. Earlier, during the so-called Golestan Haftam protests that began at midnight on February 14, 2017 with the presence of a large number of security and law enforcement forces around the house of Dr. Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, the security forces had also used shotguns, which ultimately resulted in permanent damage to the eyes of some Gonabadi Dervishes or loss of their vision. In 2019, police forces in Chile also resorted to violence and used shotguns to suppress protesters, resulting in 445 people being injured in the eye area, more than 34 people becoming blind in one eye, and some losing their vision completely. This incident initiated a movement in this country to protest the violence used by the police with the eye symbol. It seems that the extreme violence of the security forces has caused a similar reaction in the people of Iran and Chile.
Source: HRANA
