Witnesses say Iranian police ‘intentionally targeted’ heads and eyes of protesters in Isfahan

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Issued on: 03/12/2021 – 17:08Modified: 06/12/2021 – 11:09

Iranian security forces carried out a violent crackdown on November 26 on farmers who had been peacefully protesting the redirection of a vital river in the town of Isfahan for several weeks. Dozens of protesters lost an eye or sustained head injuries. Photos and eyewitness accounts, including those by our Observer, support the theory that security forces aimed and fired directly at people’s faces.

The protest movement began on November 9 when farmers set up tents in the dry riverbed of the Zayandeh Rood, the river that runs through Isfahan, Iran’s third-largest city with more than two million residents. The farmers blame the water shortage on the authorities, who redirected water to the neighbouring province of Yazd. They are also angry that local industries draw from the river, which contributes to a sharp reduction in water levels. The farmers also want authorities to open the region’s dams to release more water.

The authorities tolerated the protests for two weeks. Journalists from Iran’s public television channel even interviewed protesters.

But on the night of November 25, security forces began a brutal crackdown – first setting the protesters’ tents on fire. The morning of November 26, riot police and the Basijis, militiamen from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, moved in, attacking protesters. Security forces released tear gas and beat protesters with batons. Some also used pump-action shotguns – which can be used with both bullets or nonlethal projectiles.