Iran Resorts to Brutality Against Protestors

Amnesty International said on Wed.15 Jan. 2020 it had evidence Iranian security personnel used “unlawful force” over the weekend during peaceful protests after Tehran admitted it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner. The rights group cited verified images and eyewitness testimonies indicating authorities had targeted protesters with rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray, along with pointed air-gun pellets normally used for hunting. It said security forces also beat demonstrators with batons, kicked and punched them and made arbitrary arrests during protests the previous Saturday and Sunday. Amnesty cited verified videos in which people helping the wounded are heard saying they had been shot, as well as X-rays showing pellets lodged in two protesters’ legs. It added that the Iranian security and intelligence forces were “maintaining a heavy presence in hospitals raising fears they plan to arrest patients.”  Several protesters had not sought hospital treatment for wounds for fear of being detained, it added, while some facilities in Tehran had turned away the wounded, warning they could be arrested. News sources have reported that the Iranian families of the victims of the Ukrainian airliner crash have also been threatened and intimidated by Iranian security agencies. They have been told that if they want the remains of their loved ones, they must refrain from giving interviews to Persian-language media outside of Iran. Many families say that their every move is under surveillance and security forces even interfere in their private mourning ceremonies and make threatening calls. One family member said she was called several times and told to ask Persian-language media outside Iran to remove photographs of her loved ones from their sites. (VFI News / Times Of Israel)

“The wicked prowl on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.” Ps. 12:8