Iran Human Rights Campaign: Government Forces' Attack on Hospitals is a 'Crime Against Humanity'

In response to the attack by Islamic Republic agents on at least two hospitals during recent protests, the Iran Human Rights Campaign stated that these actions could constitute a 'crime against humanity' under international law. In a statement, the human rights organization wrote that government forces have killed dozens of people, including children, arbitrarily detained thousands, and violently attacked hospitals in an effort to arrest injured protesters. On the tenth day of protests, the assault by security forces on Sina Hospital in Tehran sparked a wave of criticism. This incident occurred on Tuesday, January 6, just days after military and law enforcement forces stormed Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam. Following the raid on the Ilam hospital, public outcry on social media was so significant that Masoud Pezeshkian, the President and the Ministers of Health and Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran, promised to investigate the matter. However, on Tuesday, the attack on Sina Hospital occurred. Videos released of the attack on Ilam Hospital, which took place on the evening of Saturday, January 4, following intense clashes between protesters and security forces, were initially shared on social media and later confirmed by the Ministry of Health. According to reports, after the injured protesters were transferred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam and the medical facility was surrounded, security forces' attempts to enter and arrest several injured individuals faced resistance from families and medical staff. Nonetheless, images show that security forces ultimately entered the hospital by throwing tear gas and using violence. In reaction to the attack on Sina Hospital, the Persian account of the U.S. State Department on the social media platform X shared a video of tear gas being fired at the hospital, stating: 'This pattern of targeting hospitals, places built for treating and sheltering patients, demonstrates the regime's brutality and disregard for the basic principles of human dignity.' The Iran Human Rights Campaign emphasized that targeting medical facilities and detaining the injured is a clear violation of human rights and fundamental principles of international law, calling for accountability for those responsible for these actions. The slogan 'Until the clerics are buried' was chanted in the city of Sari; the attack by agents and the response of young protesters. Strikes and market closures occurred in the city of Shiraz on Wednesday. Lindsey Graham, referencing Trump's warning, stated that the ayatollahs are 'religious Nazis' and that the killing of protesters will not be cost-free for them. The U.S. State Department stated: 'Despite the regime's brutal violence, the people of Iran are bravely taking action to claim their rights.' 'At least five children killed by repressive forces'; report from Iran Human Rights on the first ten days of the nationwide uprising. Amnesty International condemned the attack by repressive forces on a hospital in Ilam.