Warning: The following story contains graphic details of violence which some readers might find upsetting.
A BBC Persian analysis of hundreds of videos and photographs taken during recent protests in Iran confirms the security forces' use of a wide range of weaponry, including machine guns, sniper rifles, and shotguns. Protesters were reportedly killed in many of the more than 200 cities where protests had been recorded. While the exact death toll remains unclear, the level of brutality and the deployment of lethal weaponry evidenced in pictures, witness accounts, and reports by human rights groups and the media show thousands have been killed across the country.
The crackdown on protests - which began over the economy but rapidly escalated - employed a level of violence unprecedented in modern Iranian history. This is the largest mass killing in contemporary Iranian history and one of the largest in the world, Payam Akhavan, an Iranian Canadian former UN prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, told BBC News Persian. The Iranian government has blamed the killings on rioters and terrorists.
However, BBC News Persian's analysis shows that security forces used a variety of weapons on protesters, including:
The BBC report details the shocking ramifications of the crackdown, illustrating the extent of violence against peaceful protesters and stressing the need for international attention to the brutality faced by civilians in these scenes. Each weapon mentioned has its own harrowing narrative, depicting a story of civil rights abuse and the desperate call for justice among the people of Iran.
A BBC Persian analysis of hundreds of videos and photographs taken during recent protests in Iran confirms the security forces' use of a wide range of weaponry, including machine guns, sniper rifles, and shotguns. Protesters were reportedly killed in many of the more than 200 cities where protests had been recorded. While the exact death toll remains unclear, the level of brutality and the deployment of lethal weaponry evidenced in pictures, witness accounts, and reports by human rights groups and the media show thousands have been killed across the country.
The crackdown on protests - which began over the economy but rapidly escalated - employed a level of violence unprecedented in modern Iranian history. This is the largest mass killing in contemporary Iranian history and one of the largest in the world, Payam Akhavan, an Iranian Canadian former UN prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, told BBC News Persian. The Iranian government has blamed the killings on rioters and terrorists.
However, BBC News Persian's analysis shows that security forces used a variety of weapons on protesters, including:
- machine guns
- sniper rifles
- assault rifles
- shotguns
- handguns
- pellet-firing paintball guns
- tear gas
- machetes
- knives
- batons
- large wooden clubs
- green laser sights and pointers (for blinding and targeting)
The BBC report details the shocking ramifications of the crackdown, illustrating the extent of violence against peaceful protesters and stressing the need for international attention to the brutality faced by civilians in these scenes. Each weapon mentioned has its own harrowing narrative, depicting a story of civil rights abuse and the desperate call for justice among the people of Iran.
