According to a report published by the Iran Human Rights Center, a family searched for their child for three consecutive days during the nationwide protests; a young man who had left home to participate in the demonstrations and never returned. In a state of complete uncertainty, the family first searched various hospitals, then went to Behesht-e Zahra, Tehran’s main cemetery, and eventually their search led them to Kahrizak, a site where horrifying images of large numbers of slain protesters’ bodies had simultaneously circulated widely on social media and in some media outlets.
In Kahrizak, the family was forced to search for any sign of their child among lifeless bodies; an environment where hope and terror were painfully intertwined. Finally, contrary to all expectations and fears, they found their son alive. According to this account, he had been severely wounded by a gunshot and, for three full days without water or food, had remained motionless inside a plastic body bag intended for the dead, out of fear that agents would fire a final, execution-style shot.
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According to the same report, the family ultimately managed to remove him from that condition and transfer him to a hospital for treatment.
This account, despite its profound bitterness, presents a rare image of survival in the heart of death and at the same time exposes the shocking conditions governing the crackdown on protests in Iran; from the treatment of the wounded to the heavy pressures imposed on families to locate their loved ones and gain access to medical care. These are families who, during the days of protests, were left wandering between hospitals, morgues, and security centers.
It should be noted that due to the shutdown and severe restrictions on the internet in Iran, independent verification of this account is currently not possible.
