Iran's crackdown risks blinding protesters
Amid rising alarm about protesters held incommunicado, medics and activists fear injury and even permanent blindness from birdshot fired by security forces.
Iranian activists expressed serious concern about 214 protesters arrested during last week's rallies against water mismanagement in the central city of Isfahan.
In a statement Dec. 29, the Center for Human Rights in Iran said the country's officials were responsible for those held in custody, many of them incommunicado, including at least 13 children.
The initially peaceful protests continued for two weeks on the drained basin of the Zayandeh-Roud River, chosen as a symbolic venue to highlight the plight of water shortages in central Iran. Last Thursday and Friday, however, the rallies turned ugly and quickly spilled over into the entire city after a pre-dawn raid by riot police who reportedly burned the protesters' tents.
Videos on social media showed demonstrators shouting slogans against Iran's most powerful man, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Many were seen severely wounded, lying motionless on streets, including teenagers, women and elderly farmers, who became the face of the protests.
