Iran Protests: Radiographs Show Devastating Wounds

The Guardian and Factnameh reveal medical imaging from Iranian hospitals, showing catastrophic injuries inflicted on protesters during January crackdowns, highlighting the scale and severity of violence against civilians

Medical Imaging Exposes Protest Repression – The Guardian, a longstanding British newspaper documenting human rights violations, published an investigation providing stark, verifiable evidence of repression during Iranian protests. The report relies on medical imaging—X-rays and CT scans—showing injuries rather than verbal testimony or secondhand accounts.

The scans provide a literal depiction of violence. One patient, Anahita (a pseudonym, in her early twenties), shows 2–5 mm metal pellets scattered across her face, eye sockets, and even brain tissue. These birdshot pellets, fired from a shotgun at close range, can fracture bones, destroy soft tissue, and perforate eyeballs. Anahita lost at least one eye, possibly both.

Scale and Severity of Injuries

These images are part of over 75 diagnostic sets from a single hospital during one evening in January, demonstrating a “mass casualty” scenario. The injuries are catastrophic:

• Vahid has a large-caliber bullet lodged in his neck, displacing the trachea and compressing vital tissues.
• A middle-aged man shows a bullet suspended in his brain with an intracranial gas bubble.
• Two young men have high-caliber bullets lodged near the spine.
• A young woman shows a deformed bullet that pierced her chest, damaging a lung before stopping near the spine.

Independent Expert Verification

A panel of international specialists—including trauma imaging experts, radiologists, and emergency physicians—analyzed the scans alongside The Guardian and Factnameh. An Iranian emergency physician confirmed the software used and the absence of manipulation. Experts note that without full medical records, definitive diagnoses are not possible for individual patients, but the overall pattern is undeniable.

One imaging specialist summarized: “If you shoot people with these weapons, you are trying to kill them.” The scans show full metal jacket bullets typical of assault rifles like the AK-47 or KL-133, weapons issued to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Systematic Use of Birdshot

Alongside high-caliber rounds, the scans reveal systematic birdshot use. Iran remains one of the few countries using metallic birdshot against civilians. At close range, dozens or hundreds of pellets penetrate simultaneously, causing catastrophic damage.

For example, Ali (pseudonym) has over 174 pellets in the right chest cavity, with a partially collapsed lung surrounded by blood and gas. Even with immediate surgery, experts say the risk of death remains extremely high.

Rohini Haar, an emergency physician and consultant for Physicians for Human Rights, explains: “Many think birdshot is less lethal than real bullets. It is not. At close range, these spheres are like a hundred tiny bullets.”

Targeted Violence Against Vital and Sensitive Areas

The scans show repeated targeting of eyes, chest, and genital areas:

• 29 patients suffered facial injuries from birdshot.
• At least nine presented genital or pelvic injuries from both pellets and high-caliber rifles.
• A middle-aged woman has nearly 200 pellets across her thighs and pelvis.
• A 35-year-old man shows similar injuries.

Doctors report severe disfigurement, permanent genital damage, and possible long-term consequences like incontinence, infertility, or impotence.

Eye Injuries and Intent

Iranian physicians report recurring patterns suggesting deliberate intent to cause permanent disability. Ahmad (verified identity) recounts numerous cases of irreparably damaged eyes, including adolescents. The youngest patient was a 14-year-old girl shot in the left eye while attending a protest with family. The attack caused irreversible damage.

Ahmad explains: “This pattern strongly suggests an intent to cause permanent disability rather than accidental harm.”

Violence Across All Ages

Other verified doctors describe cases affecting all age groups, from children to the elderly. Weapons include handguns, AK-47 rifles, and shotguns. A 65-year-old woman attempting to rescue her granddaughter was fatally wounded at close range.

Limited Scope of Imaging

Experts emphasize that these images represent only a fraction of total injuries. Hospitals in mass-casualty events conduct strict triage, reserving CT scans for cases deemed salvageable. Many victims shot in the head with high-caliber firearms never reach imaging.

The scans therefore document only immediate survivors, providing a chilling glimpse of systematic violence against protesters.

Clinical Evidence Beyond Political Rhetoric

Taken together, these images provide visual evidence of systematic repression that resembles armed conflict more than conventional crowd control. In the absence of international observers, medical imaging becomes a de facto historical record. Each visible pellet or bullet lodged in bone or tissue represents a deliberate choice to use military-grade weapons against civilians.

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