Iran Special Police Commander Denies Killing, Injuring Protesters

A combo photo of some of the protesters whose eyes were injured by security forces
A combo photo of some of the protesters whose eyes were injured by security forces

The commander of Iranian special police units has denied “deliberate” shooting at sensitive parts of the protestors' bodies such as their eyes and heads.

Hassan Karami in an interview with Hamshahri daily on Tuesday claimed that "The performance of the special unit has shown it is not their intention to deal unprofessionally with people."

"I have so much confidence in the ability of the special forces that I have said many times if anyone can prove that even one person was killed due to a mistake by our staff, I will offer them a reward."

While the suppression of the nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic has so far left more than 500 citizens dead and thousands injured, Karami claimed, "The special unit forces have the ability and expertise to restore peace with the least cost and damage."

He also rejected the use of ambulances to transport security forces saying that "our units do not have covert and secret missions" and "this could be a propaganda by the enemy."

Karami's statements come as over 100 doctors in a letter to the head of the Iranian Ophthalmology Association announced that a large number of citizens lost the vision of one or both eyes as bullets and paintballs were fired at them at close range during the protesters.

In the past weeks, many videos and photos on social media have shown young protesters who have lost one or both eyes to police gunfire.

Ghazal Ranjkesh is one of those who lost her right eye when shot by the security forces in Bandar Abbas south of Iran.