Bullets at citizens, flight into exile, and the true face of repression in the Islamic Republic

The shooting of citizens and their flight into exile is not just a personal narrative, but a picture of decades of repression, violence, and crimes by the Islamic Republic against the people of Iran.

While many Iranian citizens have been forced to flee the country in recent years due to widespread repression, new accounts of victims of state violence continue to emerge, showing how protesting injustice in Iran can result in permanent injury, imprisonment, or exile.

One such account concerns Abtin, an Iranian Christian citizen who was shot by security forces during the nationwide protests of 2019 and was forced to leave the country. He now lives in Armenia and, referring to similar nationwide protests in January 1404, says that he still carries the scars of those days on his body.

Following the recent protests in Iran and the crimes of the Islamic Republic against the Iranian people and the massive massacre of citizens, CBN NEWS decided to interview Abtin, an Iranian Christian citizen who shares the same experience of the government's repression of the Iranian people, and published this interview.

In this interview, Abtin points to the deep wounds on his hand, saying that these injuries are a reminder of the day when government forces fired on protesters. Recalling those days, he explains how a shotgun blast hit his hand during street protests and changed his life forever.

According to him, the widespread protests of 2019 were not just a reaction to a sudden increase in gasoline prices. At that time, thousands of people took to the streets in various cities in Iran to protest against corruption, discrimination, and economic inequality.

He says of the protesters' motivation: "We were protesting the oppression and discrimination imposed on society by a handful of oligarchs who had monopolized all the country's wealth for decades and had no concern for the people. They were indifferent to the pain and suffering of their fellow citizens."

According to him, the protests were actually a cry for the most basic human rights: "We were fighting for freedom, for a normal life, for prosperity, for security. The most obvious things that every human being needs in life."

Human rights organizations report that the Iranian government’s response to the 2019 protests was one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the country’s recent history. According to Amnesty International, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters, killing at least 208 people in less than a week, although estimates suggest the real number could be much higher.

Some reports even claimed the deaths of over 300 people, describing the crackdown as a “massacre” of protesters. There were also reports of a widespread massacre in the city of Mahshahr, where dozens of protesters were shot by IRGC forces in the reeds surrounding the city.

Human rights organizations have emphasized that the widespread use of live ammunition against unarmed protesters represents a systematic pattern of government violence.

After that incident, Abtin was forced to leave Iran. He says that when he arrived in Armenia, he was in a very difficult mental state. He says: “When I came to Armenia, I was in a very bad mental state, and the only place that could give me peace and soothe my heart during this time was this church.”

In Armenia, a number of Iranian citizens who have fled the country due to political or religious pressures live side by side and gather in religious communities. For many of them, these communities are the only place where they can freely talk about their faith, their future, and their hope of returning home.

The leader of one of these religious communities says that this place is not just a place of worship, but a place where people prepare for a different future. “Even more than civil liberties and the freedoms of our country, the people of Iran need salvation,” he says. “They need the salvation that comes through knowing Jesus Christ. The freedoms and comforts of this world are temporary and limited, but His grace is eternal and limitless.”

Among many Iranians living abroad, hope for political change in Iran remains alive. Some believe they will one day be able to return to their country and participate in rebuilding a freer society.

In recent years, there have been several waves of protests in Iran; protests that began with economic problems but quickly turned into political demands and calls for fundamental changes in the structure of the government.

Despite widespread repression, mass arrests, and the use of deadly violence against protesters, many Iranians continue to speak of their desire for freedom and a normal life; a desire that, they say, has been met with bullets, imprisonment, and exile over the decades of Islamic Republic rule.

For those like Abtin, the scars left on their bodies are not just a reminder of an incident; they are a sign of a reality that millions of Iranians have experienced: the reality of living in a country where protesting injustice can cost a person their life or their future.

The full CBN NEWS interview with Abtin in English can be viewed via the following link: