Human rights groups report that security personnel in Iran’s Kurdistan province are using more violent techniques in response to demonstrations. With little information emanating from the region.
Human rights organizations have warned of an intensifying response by Iranian security forces to rallies in the western province of Kurdistan.
Clips from the regional capital of Sanandaj purport to show security forces discharging firearms in residential areas and big numbers of anti-riot police moving throughout the city.
After the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of security forces, the city was one of the first to witness rallies.
With widespread allegations of internet outages and local journalists being detained for reporting the protests, information about the situation on the ground is scant.
However, footage from throughout the nation is appearing online. A widely denounced video showed a police officer sexually assaulting a female demonstrator in Tehran’s Argentina Square while attempting to arrest her.
A voice can be heard in the video saying: “Oh, she has been arrested; she is a female. Please release her. Why does no one come to her aid?”
This video was published on Monday by the Norwegian organization Hengaw, which monitors human rights breaches in the Iranian province of Kurdistan. According to reports, it was taken near Naysar, a northern neighborhood of Sanandaj.
Even though reverse image searches of the video’s keyframes validate the video’s recency.
At least six Iranian security personnel are seen firing firearms in a residential area.
According to specialists at the Omega Research Foundation, a weapons research firm based in the United Kingdom, the sound heard when reloading indicates the fired weapons are shotguns.
And while they may be using rubber bullets, they believe that shotgun pellets are more likely.
It is impossible to discern the direction of fire in the footage, but Hengaw asserts that officers were firing straight at homes.
Amnesty International has also heard complaints of police personnel shooting tear gas into residential areas.
Another video posted by Hengaw over the weekend depicts empty cartridges and canisters.
The individual filming the video states that they were employed to “repress the people” and concludes the video with the phrase “Death to Khameini.”
The Omega Research Foundation has determined that the casings on the left and in the middle are shotgun cartridges.
The metal canisters in the upper-right corner of the image would have held CS gas, often known as tear gas.
According to the Omega Research Foundation, the spent cartridges in the films are comparable to those discovered in other Iranian towns.
“Each piece of evidence requires further investigation, but when taken together, they lead to the deployment of live fire against demonstrators,” the report stated.
However, human rights groups say that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
“The demonstrations and confrontations are about to enter a delicate phase. The dictatorship is increasing its use of force to suppress the demonstrations. And we’ve observed this in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, as well as in the region’s minor towns “Taimor Aliassi, the representative of the Association for Human Rights in Iran’s Kurdistan to the United Nations, stated as much.
“They are now employing new weapons against demonstrators that we have never seen before,” he told.
Other purported Sanandaj films depict chaotic scenes on the ground.
At least fourteen motorcycles ridden by members of the security forces are seen driving across the city in this footage.
Many of the bicycles transport two cops, with those in the back being armed. Throughout the footage, gunfire can be heard, and protesters can be seen throwing rocks at officers as they pass.
According to Hengaw, it is not uncommon for Iranian officers to ride motorcycles, but it is unusual to see so many together.
Other footage supplied by the group illustrates the scope of the city’s security presence.
This footage, which they claim was obtained on Thursday, depicts a convoy of at least 14 vehicles carrying security forces, including automobiles, motorcycles, and trucks.
Those who are seen appear to be anti-riot police from Iran.
In recent days, however, it has been reported that officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been working in the region while wearing police and riot police uniforms.
Therefore, it is difficult to determine precisely which units comprise the displayed convoy.
He informed me that all types of security forces, both plainclothes and uniformed, have been transferred to Sanandaj.
“Residents’ photographs depict security personnel stationed every five meters down the street. The situation is pretty militarized.”
