A Survivor’s Account of Brutality and a Call for International Action
A protestor who was brutally beaten during anti-regime demonstrations in Tehran last January has now spoken out, urging the world to act against the increasing number of protesters facing death sentences. In a rare first-hand account, Darius shares his harrowing experience and calls on the international community to save Iranians on death row from what he describes as the clutches of ‘monsters.’
According to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, 18-year-old musician Amirhossein Hatami was hanged on Wednesday after being sentenced by a so-called ‘death judge’ over his role in the protests. Images of his forced confession aired on Iranian state TV, and his black curly hair was shaved off. At dawn on Sunday, Mohammad Amin Biglari, 19, and Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, 30, were executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison. Fears are growing for dozens more sentenced to death, with reports that two other men, Ali Fahim, 23, and Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, 51, are understood to be at the same prison in an ‘undisclosed location for execution.’
“I will never get these images out of my mind, all those young people — it replays over and over in my mind and will haunt me for the rest of my life. All those young lives were just taken and murdered,” he said.
The Protests That Turned Deadly
On January 8, Darius and his wife were among hundreds of thousands who took to the streets across Iran after the former Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, called for the regime to be overthrown. What began as mass demonstrations quickly spiraled into one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the country’s modern history. Human rights groups say around 40,000 were killed and tens of thousands arrested as security forces moved to crush the uprising.
The executions came amid Iran’s war with Israel and the United States, which began on February 28 with airstrikes that killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Speaking from hiding, he said: “I was never at a demonstration in my life before, but we decided to go out on January 8th, on a Thursday evening. Reza Pahlavi called on us to go out at 8 pm, but as Iranians are fashionably late, we came out after dinner at 8:30. There were huge crowds building up.”
He lived in the north of Tehran, close to the Iranian television station and many military compounds — an area usually very tightly controlled and not many people dared to come out. By the time they got to Vanak Square, there were maybe 50–60,000 people. As far as the eye could see, there was a crowd.
“My wife, a few friends, and I were there. We were about 50 rows away from the square when suddenly 16 or 17 motorcycles arrived, two men on each. We heard tear gas. One canister landed right next to my foot. Everyone started running — total mayhem. A woman fell in front of me as I tried to run away. She was about 75 years old. I grabbed her hand and picked her up.”
The Attack That Changed Everything
He then describes how he heard a motorcycle racing up behind him. Turning to look, he saw a second rider armed with a baton topped by a heavy ball and a gun. The man struck him on the head above the eyebrow, almost blinding him, and he collapsed to the ground. When he tried to stand moments later, the officer swung again. He raised his hand to block the blow and instantly realized it was hanging limp from his wrist.
“I started running. They came after me. People were being shot. I think many were plain-clothes security forces. These ‘Yegan Vijeh,’ who are special forces, hit me, but among the crowd there were many plain-clothes security forces shooting people with real guns at close range — they were also pointing a green laser at people, and the snipers on the rooftops would shoot them.”
“They were inside the crowd, shooting demonstrators. They were probably among us from the beginning. People were falling, blood everywhere. Bodies kept going down like roulette, and we just kept on running for our lives.”
Darius says he’s not young but found the strength to run as the terrifying thought raced through his mind that if they caught him with his passport — as he is a dual citizen — they would accuse him of being a Mossad spy. His child’s face, everything went through his head. He started running hard. He tried to jump over one of the big roadside ditches and fell, hitting his head on the cement floor of the ditch again.
Survival and Escape
People helped him up and said his face was covered in blood. One woman cleaned the wound, another stuffed tissues inside the wound, and pulled his hat down to cover it. He didn’t want to remove his mask or hat because of TV cameras and fear they’d identify him later.
“I live about two kilometers away. Everyone was trying to help the wounded and escape. My wife, a friend, who later got arrested, and I went into the side streets as all hell broke loose. I’ve lived there for years, I know every alley. We used the back alleys to try to get home. Two motorcycles chased us. They arrested many people behind us. We were lucky. We reached a street where a taxi passed by.”
“There were machine guns. People were being shot and falling. As I ran, bodies were everywhere. You couldn’t take a few steps without jumping over someone. Some were shot with plastic bullets, others with real guns, mostly by plain-clothes security forces who had walked with us toward the square and then suddenly turned on the crowd. I jumped over so many bodies; they just fell to the floor.”
“Everyone had decided to demonstrate that night. When I eventually got home, those were the last 12 minutes of internet we later found out before the total blackout. I called my family to tell them I was okay. They saw my injuries and were terrified, but I told them not to tell our child. I called a few friends — everyone I spoke to had gone out and experienced the same thing.”
Aftermath and the Price of Truth
After the blackout, some footage managed to get out to the international world, showing parents wandering in shock and searching for their children, with phones ringing out from body bags in an attempt to find their loved ones. “At some point, I realized my wallet was missing. I had dropped it in all the commotion. My heart was in my mouth as I realized that if it was found in the streets, I would be identified. I traced my footsteps the day after, and miraculously, it was in the ditch that I had fallen in that night, covered in blood. I am so lucky they didn’t find it.”
“I laid low until my cast was off and my face had healed, in case I would get questioned at the border, and then eventually left the country. I can’t say how, as I don’t want them to trace me — you really need to understand what these people are capable of. A few days later, the war broke out.”
“We all want an end to this regime. We want Israel and the US to finish the job. We want Prince Reza Pahlavi to lead us. We want a democratic and free Iran.”
The protests and the violent crackdown that followed have left deep scars across the country, with activists warning the true death toll may never be fully known. Breaking down in tears, Darius says: “When you hear this story, it’s hard to comprehend how such things can happen in only 2 nights. But really, they have been doing this for 47 years. How can the Islamic Republic do it to its own people?”
“They are evil. You need to know what you’re dealing with.”
