Blinding as a Weapon (33): A Would-Be Football Coach who Lost his Eye

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 and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This is the story of Sadegh Sufi, a 27-year-old man who wanted to become a football and futsal coach. But his dream vanished when he lost his left eye due to the shooting of security forces as he was taking part in mourning ceremonies marking the 40th day since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

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“Imagine folding a piece of nylon a few times and holding it over your eyes. What you see is light and shadow. This is what happened to Sadegh’s eye, but he cannot see colors either.”

It happened more than six months ago in the north-western province of West Azerbaijan. It was around 7 p.m., the sky was dark and the electricity to Bukan’s neighborhoods was cut off. People in multiple cities were in the streets. That night, like other nights, Sali was among the protesters.

Sufi  was standing in the middle of the street, chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic. On the sidewalk, an armed man wearing the cockroach-like uniform of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired at him. A pellet hit his eye and other projectiles entered his face, hand, belly and legs.

Shortage of Medical Equipment

A woman took Sufi to her home and washed his eye. Then she took him to a doctor who prescribed tests and a CAT scan. The same night, Sufi underwent surgery but doctors could not take out the pellet that had lodged in his eye.

Shortage of medical equipment in the city forced Sufi to visit other hospitals until November 9, when he was taken to the provincial capital, Tabriz. Doctors there were able to remove the pellet from his eye. Another surgery was performed on December 26. This time a laser was used to burn the blood clots inside his injured eye.

Now, Sufi must not carry anything heavier than 10 kilograms and must take medication every six hours. Doctors say it is not yet clear if the sight of his injured eye will recover.

Dr. Rouzbeh Esfandiari, a former doctor with Tehran Emergency Services, tells IranWire that “in cases such as Sufi’s, hemorrhage in vitreous humor and cataract are caused by trauma. His eye lens and the vitreous humor in the eye have been removed. One of the reasons for removing the vitreous humor is that the hemorrhage inside the vitreous humor forces the retina to spread. After the vitreous humor is removed, the hematoma inside the humor is also removed to ease traction on the retina. They have also injected gas into his eye to prevent further detachment of the retina.”

Who Is Sadegh Sufi?

“Every day he looks in the mirror at his eye that was hit by the pellet. He likes it. Every time that Sadegh stands before the mirror, he gazes at his own face. To him, his wound is like a memento of surviving a battle. It reminds him of those scenes of unity and solidarity among the people. He is proud of himself and of the wound that he carries with himself,” says a friend of his.

However, Sufi, who used to be a social and lively person, is now mostly a recluse, except when he is with people who have suffered like him. His eye is not the only thing that he lost in the protests. A number of his friends were killed, like Shahriar Mohammadi or Mohammad Hassanzadeh, who lost his life just two weeks before his marriage. He also lost his neighbor Asas Rahimi and his childhood classmate Salar Mojaver.

Sufi lives with his mother. His father died in 2015 and his brothers, who do not live with them, became the family’s breadwinners. He got a college degree in physical education and was working as an interior decorator and drywaller.

Sufi wanted to become a football and futsal coach so he could work in a field related to his degree, but he has now lost his eye, his job and his dreams. He spent several months in seclusion and lived with his pain but, for some time now, he has been socializing with others like him who have lost an eye.

A Promise Not to Forget

Sufi continues to call for justice by visiting the graves of those killed during the nationwide protests. Others who have lost an eye, like Sufi, regularly visit these graves so that the truth will not be forgotten.

The last Instagram posting by Sufi is about a gathering over the graves of Hamid Reza Rouhi and Yalda Agha-Fazli. The soundtrack is the song “Baraye…” by Shervin Hajipour, the anthem of the nationwide protests.