Letter from Tehran: 38 Gunshot Victims at Rasool Akram Hospital
Protest gathering at Rasool Akram Hospital
By a physician in Tehran
I am a physician working at the Rasool Akram hospital.
Yesterday (June 21st), they brought in 38 gunshot victims to our hospital. 10
were already dead and the rest had various related injuries.
From
the look of it, these people had suffered automatic weapon fire. Most had more
than 2 bullet wounds close to one another.
A 68
year old man had been shot on the left shoulder and abdomen. Another young man,
18 years old, had been shot in the hand and wrist. According to the injured,
they were shot from rooftops. A 32-year-old man had been shot in the back, but
the exit wound had been through the front thigh.
Doctors and nurses are protesting at
Rasool Akram
hospital in Tehran on June 16
The
survivor accounts is that they suddenly came under fire while walking in front
of a Basiji base north of Azadi Square. Basiji are a "volunteer" (goon) militia
force organized in 1979; paid by the regime and brainwashed by religion. A
vehicle had been parked in front of the gate to prevent people from entering it
which indicates prior planning. According to eyewitness accounts, 4 Basijis
started shooting from the roof top of the base in a way that even those trying
to help the wounded came under fire and became victims. At this point, the angry
mob attacked the vehicle and set it on fire, but were unable to enter the base.
Soon, the riot police and more Basijis arrived which resulted in more people
getting shot and killed.
An injured protester, Tehran, June 21
Based
on the information obtained from physicians at the Emam Khomaini Hospital
(another hospital), 38 gunshot victims had died there in the previous night.
It is
notable that this morning, regime's security forces had taken the bodies of
these victims (by force) from the hospitals and transferred them to an
undisclosed location. Most of the families of the dead do not even know that
their loved ones have been killed.
Among
the dead are few 15 and 16 year old youngsters as well.
This
morning, between 9-11 AM, there was a gathering of physicians and students from
Rasool Akram Hospital. They were disseminating information about the victims and
the events described above. This gathering ended with the interference from the
riot police.
