Iran security forces raided hospital for wounded protesters, attacked patients, medical staff: reports

Iran’s security forces stormed a Kurdish-majority hospital and attacked medical staff and wounded protesters, according to multiple reports.

Viral videos of the Imam Khomeini Hospital raid on Jan. 4 shows the security forces opening fire on protesters outside the building, with the officers bursting through the health facility and firing bullets and tear gas inside.

The hospital was allegedly treating more than 40 people who were shot and wounded during the protest when the security forces raided the hospital, a 38-year-old nurse told DW.

“We knew the security agents were coming to arrest the wounded or record their identities,” the nurse, who did not reveal her real name, told the outlet.

“People gathered at the entrance to stop them,” she added. “At the same time, we were desperately short of blood, so calls for donors went out on social media.

“But the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and special units prevented donors from reaching us.”

The siege against the hospital lasted more than 24 hours, with patients, doctors, nurses, and even children suffering injuries due to the violence, according to reports highlighted by human rights organizations.

“Security forces allegedly raided the Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam, deploying tear gas and beating patients and medical personnel,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in its latest Fact-Finding Mission report.

One witness claimed that at least 11 of the wounded being treated at the hospital were taken away by the IRGC, while five others were left shackled to their hospital beds, according to DW.

The World Medical Association slammed the raid on the hospital as a direct attack on health professionals and violation of international humanitarian law.

“Doctors must never be forced to choose between their professional ethics and their personal safety. Intimidating physicians, interfering with patient care, or turning hospitals into sites of enforcement are unacceptable violations of medical neutrality,” said Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu, President of the World Medical Association.  

“The Iranian authorities must immediately cease all intimidation of healthcare professionals, respect the inviolability of medical facilities, and guarantee that doctors can provide care freely, safely, and without fear,” Kitulu added.

Tehran’s forces have been accused of carrying out extreme violence at the Imam Khomeini Hospital, in Ilam, which is an impoverished minority-majority province that has seen some of the most brutal action taken against anti-government protesters.

More than 2,600 people have been killed since the protests in Iran began late December, with nearly 17,000 others arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.