Witness name and surname: Withheld
Sex: Male
The place about which he is testifying: Karaj
Type of testimony before the Tribunal: Withheld
On 17 November, I went toward Fardis at about 12-1. People had set fires in the streets, and they (agents) came and put them out. The protests were almost over. At 4 p.m. when I wanted to go back to Mallard Road in Karaj, the crowd had begun to gather. As I arrived at the second roundabout, two cars also arrived. They were L90 cars. They were wearing medical masks and they were in plainclothes. With shotguns, two agents fired from directly in front and two others from the left flank. They were shooting aimlessly here and there, which made me think that I would be shot in the back. When they started firing, people scattered into the alleys and streets.
At 8 p.m. the same Basij base in front of Manzarieh Park was firing actual bullets from the roof. The bullets hit the electric poles and they bowed; you could actually hear the sound. They had Colts and Kalashnikovs. At night I could not recognize, but it appeared that they were in plainclothes. Basijis usually wear plainclothes. The Basijis were firing. It was a military grade bullet because it was hitting the door and the wall, we could hear its sound. Anyone they saw, they’d fire. That is, they wanted no one on the street. As soon as we set foot in the street, they fired from a distance. There were about ten or twelve of us, and we gathered in one section and saw that they were shooting. We could not stand at all. It was dark and we could not see who had been shot. But the next day we heard that some people, businesses there and passers-by, had died.
I went to Mallard Road again. I saw it was crowded. It was about five or six minutes that I had gotten out of the car, and I was in the crowd. It was 10 p.m. I had not reached the entrance of the 5th block on Mallard Road. For the first two or three minutes, the sound of gunfire erupted, and people dispersed and quickly regrouped. I did not see any agents, but three or four minutes later something was fired, and it hit me in the face. I was confused for almost a few seconds and could only escape into the alley. I thought my face had been shot so that one side of my face had shattered. I was in the alley when people came out of their houses. They saw my face and said that I had been hit by a bullet. I went to the parking lot and washed my face there, but my bleeding did not stop and the pain was excruciating.
When I got home, I saw 4-5 of these bullets in my shoulder and arm, and about 5 of them hit me in the face and in my ear. All together about 10-12 of these pellets were stuck in my jacket. I did not dare to go to the doctor that night. The next day I went to a clinic. Many people came when I came. Everyone said that many people were shot and killed last night. Some of the people there had been shot with pellets. One had 50 pellets all over him, one had ten. They had hit their faces; they had shot a lot of people’s feet. A man said that his brother was almost shot in the side. It was not very deep, but he said we were afraid to bring him to the doctor, so they had taken out the bullet at their house. Most of the time, when they came to the hospital, they gave fake names. We were told that agents would come and take a headcount and info from them [hospital staff] regarding who had been shot and then they would go looking for them. The doctor said that almost 500 people have come to us since last night, with the same issue. I saw a surgeon operating an outpatient. One was above his lips and he had several on his hands and feet. The doctor told me that it is better not to touch the one under my eye because it may damage the optic nerve. He gave me medicine.
I think the protests lasted for about 4-5 days. The culmination was the second, third days where many were killed. There was a person who was hit in the eye by the same bullets. He underwent three or four surgeries so that he could see. On the second day there was a businessman on Mallard Road. He had come to close his shop at night, he had a laundry near the Basij base, and he was hit in the head with a bullet in the back and was instantly killed. Almost all the families were harassed and abused just because they wanted to take possession of their loved ones’ corpses. I’m 100% sure that that is what was done to his family. They had set up a booth in front of their shop, and a few days later they had put up black banners.
