A Comprehensive Report of the First 82 days of Nationwide Protests in Iran

  HRANA – Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested by the morality police for the crime of improper hijab. Her arrest and death in detention fueled nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws, and structure of the regime. The following 486-page report is dedicated to the statistical review, analysis, and summary of the first eighty-two days of the ongoing protests (September 17 to December 7, 2022). In this report, in addition to the geographic analysis and the presentation of maps and charts, the identity of 481 deceased, including 68 children and teenagers, an estimated of 18,242 arrested along with the identity of 3,670 arrested citizens, 605 students and 61 journalists or activists in the field of information is compiled. In addition, the report includes a complete collection of 1988 verified video reports by date and topic. The report examines protests across 1115 documented gatherings in all 31 provinces of the country, including 160 cities and 143 universities.

Summary

Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan was visiting Tehran, when she was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, by the Morality Police officers at the Haqqani metro station in Tehran. The reason for her arrest: not properly observing the strict Islamic dress code. Mahsa/Zhina was taken to the infamous detention center of Moral Security Police known as Vozara.
Shortly after Mahsa’s arrest, she went into a coma with level three concussion, and her partially alive body was transferred to the intensive care unit of Kasra Hospital. Given the track record of the police and Guidance Patrols in mistreating the arrestees and similar previous incidents, with the believe that Mahsa was beaten during the arrest people were outraged.

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Unpersuasive explanations given by the Central Command of the Islamic Republic Police Force (FARAJA) in defense of its actions regarding the death of Mahsa, the past performance of the police force, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the existence of a body called the Moral Security Police, fueled widespread protests in Iran.
The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.
The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.
Despite sever communication restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic, this report attempts to give a clearer picture of the first 82 days of the protests between September 17, to December 7, 2022. It’s worth mentioning at the time of this report the protests are still ongoing in various forms.

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For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at [email protected]

At Least 30 Individuals Arrested at Protests in Behbahan

On October 26, security forces arrested at least 30 individuals in Behbahan at the protests. At least five of them are under the age of 18.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, at least 30 people, including five minors, were arrested by security forces in Behbahan, Khuzestan Province.

HRANA has identified some of them as Kian Salehi (a school student), Danial Bagherpour, Reza Fardad, Hesam Bahmani Nejad, Maziar Nourinejad, Maryam Kazemi, Maryam Payab, Mardani (female, first names unidentified) and Abbasi (female, first names unidentified).
 
The reason for these arrests and the charges are still unknown.

 

 

Injured protesters are facing life threatening infections

The nationwide protests of November are one of the most significant events of 2019. During the November protests that lasted more than 10 days simultaneously in 719 parts of the country. At least 7133 people were arrested, hundreds died on the streets, and many protesters got gunshot wounds. This report is compiled by HRANA from field investigations of the injured individuals during the last November’s protests. The majority of the injured who are interviewed for this report are living in Karaj, Eslamshahr, Sirjan, Behbahan, Mahshahr, Qods, and Ahvaz. Their ages range between 19 to 30 and were mostly shot in their feet, chest, and upper body.  They are suffering from life-threatening infections.

Alborz and Tehran

An informed source told HRANA that more than 20 days after the protests, a trusted physician agreed to treat seven of the injured in Karaj. They were shot on the same day in Karaj. Two were shot by bird shots and five were shot by rifle bullets. One of the injured was severely shot in his right foot and right shoulder and was bleeding heavily.

Another informed source in Alborz Province told HRANA that some of the victims from Mohammadieh, Shahriyar, and Eslamshahr who were injured between 16 to 18 November did not seek medical help fearing to be arrested: however, they could not afford private medical treatment. Therefore, one of the injured, a 19-year-old, died because of injuries and infection. The others are relying only on antibiotics to fight infections. The bullets are mostly in the chest and face and the upper body of these victims. Ayob Bahramian is one of the victims who left his house in Shahriar for shopping on November 16 and was shot in the thigh while crossing the street. He was hospitalized and went to a coma. He died on December 18, 2019. He was married and father of a four-year-old and a five-month-old baby.

One of the protesters in Qods city was shot in a foot while filming the security forces beating the protesters. His injury was not serious and was later treated by a trusted doctor.

An informed source told HRANA about the condition of the injured in Qods city “the first night of the protest, about 60 to 70 injured protesters were transferred to the hospital by the police vans and were treating under control of the police. Some of these injured were interrogated and released while being treated”.

Khuzestan

Another protester who interviewed with HRANA was shot by tear gas from a very short distance that broke his ribs. Some of the injured in Behbahan who were hospitalized, and their identities were given to the police are as the following:

1- Ardeshir Omidi, shot in both feet

2- Mohammad Kamrani lost his knee to a gunshot wound

3- Ebrahim Sheikhi, from Asad Abad village in Behbahan who was shot in the eye

4- Iman Alafchin, living in Khorasani neighborhood of Behbahan, who was shot in thigh and hand on November 16 was transferred to Ahvaz Hospital. He lost one foot from the knee down due to severe bleeding and medical negligence. The hospital billed him for approx. $2000. He couldn’t afford to pay this bill, so the hospital refused to release him. He is a baker and lives with his brother.

5- Maryam Payab was shot with a rifle bullet in the waist on November 16 and underwent surgery in Shahidzadeh Hospital in Behbahan She was released three days later by paying approx. $250. She was later arrested on December 19, 2019.

Three of the arrested citizens in Behbahan were also injured and have not contacted their families after their arrest. An informed source told HRANA that the security forces did not allow the personnel of Behbahan Hospital to register the injured individuals. They were even present in the operation rooms and took away the injured right after the bullets were removed from them. They even took bodies out of the hospital. Another citizen was shot in the neck and is in a coma in Ahvaz Hospital where he is under 24-hour monitoring of the security forces. The family of this victim is not allowed to visit him.

Meisam Odgipour, a resident of Khoramshahr, Anvar Matroudi, and Abdollah Yamasi, residents of Shadegan who were injured during the last November’s protest were arrested after being transferred to the hospital. Another citizen of Mahshar who was shot is not yet been treated and his life is in danger. Majid Majdam, a resident of Sarband, in Karun county in Khuzestan, was injured and died in the hospital. In addition, Mansour Dorris, son of Sarabad’s Imam of Friday Prayer was killed by gunshot and was buried on November 26, 2019.

Other provinces

Two protesters in Sirjan were treated by a trusted doctor. They were shot in the stomach. In Yasuj and Gachsaran, some of the arrested protesters were beaten severely. Among them, a 30-year old man had a broken wrist as a result of police beating. He was denied medical treatment and was transferred to the prison where he was only given pain killers for his injury before being released on bail.

Ayub Bahramian

 

Infections of the injured protesters