Do you know what these small black metal spheres are?
They are shotgun bird pellets! Islamic Republic regime’s armed forces have been useing similar pellets and in most cases larger sizes and even illegal pellets against the protesters in Iran. There are approximately 130 of them in one shotgun shell, which means that every time they were used, 130 bullets hit a human body.
While an internet blackout by the regime has hidden much of the bloody crackdown on recent protests, driven by what happened to Mahsa Amini in September of 2022, photos provided by medics to The Guardian shows devastating wounds on the bodies of protestors from a so-called birdshot pellet. The security forces have fired on them at close proximity, which has resulted in dozens of tiny “shot” balls lodged deep in human flesh.
Warning: This article contains sensitive images that may be harmful to some viewers.
Shot in Face and Eyes
The Guardian has spoken to 10 medical professionals who warned about the seriousness of the injuries that could leave hundreds of young Iranians with permanent damages. Gunshots to the eyes of women, men and children have been particularly common, they said.
Ophthalmologists from three major hospitals in Tehran estimated that their wards had admitted more than 500 patients with serious and permanent eye injuries since the start of the protests in mid-September. Many have arrived at the hospital with metal or rubber fragments still lodged in their heads.
“Saman is suffering from severe eye injuries inflicted since mid-September”, according to doctors and medical facilities.
This is Ghazal Ranjkesh, a law student who has sustained a severe eye trauma. On November 15th, 2022, while she was on her way home with her mother, a police officer fired a metal bullet at her face from a close range.
“The last image my right eye recorded was the smiling face of a man while shooting at me.” Ghazal wrote in her Instagram page.
According to Kurdistan Human Rights Network, an 18-year-old boy named Parsa Qabadi, who was shot in the face on November 30th, 2022, lost his sight and is now left blinded in both eyes.
5-year-old Benita has sustained severe eye trauma from metal pellets shot by security forces during one of the nationwide protests.
“Now, she has to see the world with only one eye for the rest of her life.” a close relative told IranWire.
Shot on Body
A photo shared with CBS News by an Iranian-American physician practising in New York state, shows what appears to be a young woman with pellet wounds on her back, which she suffered during the regime’s crackdown on ongoing protests.
This is an image of an un-identified man in his thirties, who was shot by the plain-clothed police forces from a car, according to medics who treated him after his injuries; an approximate number of 30 pellets were removed from his body.
CT scans of a 22-year-old patient in Kurdistan Province reveal metal pellets lodged in his face and eyes, which were both ruptured.
Systematic shooting at protestors’ private parts of the body
Regime’s security forces are targeting women at protests, and systematically shooting them in the face, breasts, and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country.
One doctor from Karaj, in Alborz province, said that “(security forces) shoot at the face and private body parts of women because they have an inferiority complex. And they want to get rid of their sexual complexities by hurting these young people.”
One doctor from Isfahan province, who wished to remain anonymous during his interview with the Guardians believes that the authorities want to destroy the beauty of these women.