Horrific New Photos Spotlight Brutality of Iran’s Protest Crackdown

Newly circulated images on January 22 shed stark light on the injuries and devastation tied to Iran’s sweeping clampdown, capturing bloodied backs from pellet fire, scenes of chaos in Tehran, and the fear that keeps the wounded from seeking hospital care.

Eyewitness testimony from those who fled describes security forces shooting at demonstrators’ backs and spot-checking people for signs of gunshot or pellet wounds—accounts consistent with what rights monitors have documented as the death toll has mounted under the cover of an internet blackout since early January.

Amid that fear, volunteers and even doctors have quietly moved through neighborhoods to treat people in homes. Community members say they opened doors to provide first aid to scores of teenagers and young adults caught up in the unrest. The emerging picture—of young women and men taking to the streets, of ordinary Iranians risking detention simply for possessing protest footage—underscores how deeply the crisis has touched family life across the country.

(NYP/VFI News)

“Lord, have mercy on the people of Iran. Protect the innocent, heal the wounded, and comfort families mourning loved ones. Grant courage to those who advocate for justice, and restrain hands bent on violence, that righteousness and peace might take root in that nation.”