A video of weekend protests in Iran shows a woman being carried away after being shot in the leg, while other protestors flee from tear gas, despite claims from Iranian police that they did not use live ammunition on protestors.
The video, reviewed by the Associated Press, shows a woman leaving a trail of blood as she is carried by fellow protestors. “Oh my God, she’s bleeding nonstop!” one person shouts. Another shouts: “Bandage it!”
But General Hossein Rahimi, Tehran’s police chief, later denied that police used live ammunition on the protests, which began after Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger jet last week.
“Police treated people who had gathered with patience and tolerance,” Iranian media quoted Rahimi as saying. “Police did not shoot in the gatherings since broad-mindedness and restraint has been agenda of the police forces of the capital.”
President Trump tweeted several times over the weekend in support of protestors, including urging the regime to “NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTORS.”
To the leaders of Iran – DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
During nationwide protests over rising fuel prices in November, State Department official and Iran envoy Brian Hook said that the regime “could have murdered over a thousand Iranian citizens” and that two Iranian prisons had already met the criteria for “gross human rights violations” for jailing Iranians.
The regime’s crackdown included the Iranian Revolutionary Guards massacring up to one hundred people in a single incident.
The Monday clip also shows crowds running from Azadi Square after tear gas was fired into their midst. As people cough, one woman yells “they fired tear gas at people! Azadi Square. Death to the dictator!” in Farsi.
Rahimi did tell the Farsi news agency that police “shot tear gas in some areas.”