Iranian Hospitals Under Siege: Doctors Describe Brutal Crackdown

The Iranian government has reportedly intensified its crackdown on anti-government protesters, with armed forces interfering directly in hospitals treating the wounded. Medical professionals shared harrowing accounts of security agents attempting to intimidate staff and forcibly remove patients during last month’s protests, which erupted in response to deteriorating economic conditions.

Multiple doctors detailed their experiences to the Associated Press, revealing a pattern of aggression from the regime’s security forces. Over a few days in December 2022, agents ambushed hospitals across various cities, attempting to frighten medical personnel and forcibly take away injured protesters. Some doctors resorted to altering medical records to protect patients from being apprehended by the authorities.

Doctors Share Disturbing Experiences

“The atmosphere in the hospital was extremely uneasy,” one anonymous doctor recounted. “Plainclothes agents burst into the emergency ward with AK-47s, threatening both staff and patients.” In a particularly tragic instance in the northern city of Rasht, a doctor was obstructed from treating a man in his 40s who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. The man died shortly thereafter.

A video obtained by the Associated Press illustrates the chaos, showing armed personnel breaking the glass door of a hospital as individuals sought safety. The protests, which began in response to harsh economic realities, sparked a severe crackdown by the Islamic Republic. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, this violent response has resulted in over 7,000 deaths, marking the highest toll since the government assumed power in 1979.

Images from January 2023 highlight the profound grief felt across the nation, with many mourning over the bodies of their loved ones. One particularly heart-wrenching photograph captured a young man in deep despair at the feet of a deceased individual. Additional footage showed the bodies of victims carelessly placed in bags on the floor of a medical facility.

The Impact on Medical Personnel

Medical centers were inundated with casualties for several days. “The turnover was so incredibly high that every 15 to 30 minutes, the entire emergency ward would be emptied and refilled with new patients,” one physician explained. Survivors of the violence faced further danger, as armed agents would take them into custody after they received treatment.

To protect these individuals, medical staff often refrained from documenting gunshot wounds. An abdominal injury might be recorded simply as “abdominal pain,” while a gunshot wound to the genitals would be classified under urology. “We knew that no matter what we did for the patients, they wouldn’t be safe once they stepped out of the hospital,” the doctor stated.

In response to these allegations, Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, denied claims that treatment was obstructed or that protesters were forcibly removed from medical facilities. He described the accusations as “untrue, but also fundamentally impossible.” Kermanpour stated that all injured protesters received treatment “without discrimination or interference over political opinions.”

The fallout from the protests has not been limited to the demonstrators. Medical personnel who assisted injured protesters have faced arrests in the aftermath, highlighting the risks taken by those in the healthcare profession amid the ongoing unrest.

The situation in Iran continues to evolve, raising concerns about human rights violations and the treatment of both protesters and medical professionals. As the protests persist, the international community watches closely, hoping for accountability and justice in the face of escalating violence.