Blinding As A Weapon (24): Amiri’s Injured Eye, A “Proof Of Honor”

As IranWire has reported, hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas cannisters, paintball bullets or other projectiles used by security forces amid a bloody crackdown on mainly peaceful demonstrations. Doctors say that, as of now, at least 580 protesters have lost one or both eyes in Tehran and in Kurdistan alone. But the actual numbers across the country are much higher. The report concluded that such actions by the security forces could constitute a “crime against humanity,” as defined by Article 7 of the Rome Statute.

IranWire has explored this question more deeply in an interview with Professor Payam Akhavan, a prominent human rights lawyer, special advisor to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and a former member of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

IranWire is aware of more than 50 serious eye injuries sustained by protestors and bystanders over the past five months. With the help of independent ophthalmologists, we have reviewed the medical records of around a dozen individuals and compiled a comprehensive medical report.

In the series of reports “Blinding As A Weapon,” IranWire presents the victims’ stories told in their own words. Some have posted their stories, along with their names and pictures, on social media. Others, whose real names shall not be disclosed to protect their safety, have told their stories to IranWire, which can make their identities and medical records available to international legal authorities.

This is the story of Raheleh Amiri, a 29-year-old psychologist from the southeastern city of Kerman who still finds reasons to “feel good” after being shot in the left eye.

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“I swear to the hope that grows from within despair that all will be set right,” Amiri wrote on her Instagram page.

“I know that life has become hard, but don’t set fire to the roots of hope in your heart. Let it stay green,” she said in another story.

📷 #راحله_امیری با انتشار این تصویر در حساب اینستاگرام خود نوشت: «می‌دونم زندگی سخت شده
ولی ریشه امید تو قلبت رو آتیش نزن
بذار سبز بمونه...🌱»#اعتراضات_سراسری #اعتصابات_سراسری #مهسا_امینی #شلیک_به_چشم_معترضان pic.twitter.com/ZnZV3X6tF1

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) February 1, 2023

Amiri took to Instagram to inform the public about the eye injury she sustained during protests on November 15, 2022. She later removed her posts related to the incident before deleting her account altogether. But some of her postings have been shared by other social media users.

According to information received by IranWire, some of those who wrote on social media about the eye injuries they had sustained during protests have been threatened by security agencies to remain silent. Some have been arrested or have pledged to a judge that they would not talk about their ordeal.

Hoping for “Good Days” Ahead

Nearly two months after being shot by a member of the paramilitary Basij force, Amiri posted a picture of the location where it happened and wrote that she needed all her strength to be able to return there: “One month and 20 days ago I was standing exactly here when a Basiji kid decided to shoot me in the eye and take the light away from my eye.”

Amiri was accompanied by Elaheh Tavakolian, another young woman who was shot in the eye. “We sat on the bench facing this wall,” she wrote. “Elaheh and I chatted and laughed, and I was thinking that God must love me to let me meet the best people from the very first night.”

In one of her posts, Amiri joyfully thanked the public for paying attention to the victims of targeted shootings and wrote, “With one eye or two eyes, we must see the beautiful days of Lady Iran.”

She celebrated the feeling that she has become “the beloved of a nation” after sustaining her eye injury.

Amiri’s Eye “Glows with Honor”

Amiri views her lost eye as a “proof of honor.”

She posted a picture of herself in front of a mirror and wrote, “These days, when I look in the mirror, my right eye is much smaller than the left one but, to tell the truth, I am in love with my right eye because it glows with honor.”

Amiri said that the difficult days that followed the incident made her stronger.

Raheleh posted pictures of herself from the days before the shooting and wrote, “Now, after two months, I’m not tired of being strong, I have come back even stronger than before and I’m going to start from the beginning all over again.”

The eyes that she loved

Her remaining postings show how much Amiri loved her beautiful eyes and how aware she was that they were beautiful.

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And she continued to post similar pictures until she removed her page from Instagram.

Seeking a “Normal Life”

Amiri’s postings also suggest that she has already returned to work as a psychologist.

“I have decided to return to my work, and I need your help. Please write to me in what areas you need the help of a psychologist most,” she wrote. 

An ophthalmologist told IranWire that “a diagnosis of blindness is one of the most difficult psychological diagnoses to give to an individual...the psychological devastation of someone being told they might have a cancer that can kill them is pretty close to par.”

Amiri also said that she intended to have a “normal life.” “These days I find something very interesting,” she wrote. “Just when I’m about to get depressed, I quickly find a reason to feel good. I am back in town after two months.”

Amiri wrote that her injured eye still has no vision, and she must have a retina implant. She also said that she decided not to wear an eye shield. “Get used to my new face,” she told her followers.