Matin Hosseini, a Victim of Eye Injuries from the 2019 Protests, Arrested

Matin Hosseini, a victim of eye injuries during the 2019 protests, was arrested on Tuesday, January 23, just two days after a post showing his presence at the grave of Yalda Aghafazli. Yalda Aghafazli was a protester who was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 and died under suspicious circumstances after being released from prison. According to the Dabban Legal Consultation and Education Center, Matin Hosseini had previously shared images of his visits to the graves of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, Nika Shakeri, and Kian Pirfalak on social media. In a message in July of this year, he described the pain and burning sensation in his injured eye as unbearable and reported difficulties in getting appointments at medical centers. Matin Hosseini had also shared a post related to laying flowers at Yalda Aghafazli's grave during the nationwide protests of 2022. During the International People's Tribunal for November 2019, a member of the prosecution team reported that security forces deliberately shot protesters in the eyes. According to Maryam Foomani, a human rights activist and researcher for the tribunal, between November 24 and 27, over 70 people underwent surgery in a specialized eye hospital in Iran due to pellet injuries to their eyes. The International People's Tribunal for November was held in London in 2021 to pave the way for 'justice' for 'thousands of victims' of the November 2019 protests, in collaboration with three organizations: 'Human Rights Iran', 'Justice for Iran', and 'Together Against Execution'. The 2019 protests began on Friday, November 15, following the sudden announcement of a rise in gasoline prices, and faced severe suppression by government forces. Reuters described the suppression of the November 2019 protests as 'the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since the Islamic Revolution in 1979', with the death toll reported at 1,500. Targeting the eyes of protesters by security forces has been one of the methods of suppression in recent years. During the nationwide protests of 2022, following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in custody of the morality police, dozens of protesters suffered eye injuries from deliberate shots fired by government agents, with some becoming blind. According to reports from human rights organizations and international media, at least around six hundred protesters were shot in the eyes by security forces last year.