More than 400 hours have passed since Iran was plunged into a total internet blackout. Ninety million people have been cut off from the world, trapped in isolation and silence. Only a handful have managed to break through this wall of suppression, carrying with them fragments of what they saw on January 8 and 9 - stories that illuminate the hidden corners of the crimes committed against Iranian protesters.
“I witnessed Judgment Day when they began firing into the crowd without any prior warning - using live ammunition that took the lives of our youth and loved ones.” These are the first words of one of the participants in the protest gathering on Friday, January 9, at Kaj Square in Saadat Abad, which is located in one of Tehran’s most affluent and modern neighborhoods.
A young man who had traveled to Tehran to participate in this protest said: “My mother has only one child, one son… and now when I want to leave the house, she doesn’t say ‘don’t go,’ she doesn’t say ‘be careful.’ I think, alongside thousands of mourning mothers, she has made peace with losing me.”
Having just gained internet access and seen the images of the protest days, he addressed the government’s claim regarding the presence and role of “terrorists,” telling IranWire: “I was at Kaj Square and the surrounding streets from 8:30 PM. The repressive forces were in the square in full uniform; some plainclothes agents were clearly coordinated with the official officers. Everyone was armed with Kalashnikovs, sniper rifles, and more. What sane mind believes that ‘terrorists’ could appear in a square in central Tehran amidst that massive crowd of protesters and security forces? If they were terrorists, why were they standing next to the people? Why were they shooting at us instead of the security forces?”
The young man also spoke about how the square’s mosque was set on fire again, saying security forces had taken positions inside it and were shooting at people both from the roof and from within. In an attempt to drive them out, protesters threw several Molotov cocktails into the mosque. He added, “There is also a half-finished building and a municipal parking lot there. They were firing at us from those two buildings as well.”
According to him, the first live bullet hit the chest of a young man near the ice cream shop around Kaj Square.
The protester told IranWire that from around 8:00 or 8:30 PM, security forces were already using tear gas and sound bombs. Green laser sights were trained on people’s heads, chests, and eyes, while the hum of low-flying drones filled the air. But the first live bullet was fired around 10:00 PM, striking a young man in the chest near the ice cream shop. There was no warning. No announcement. They began shooting once they realized the crowd could not be dispersed, and arresting such a massive gathering was simply impossible.
He said that in such an enormous crowd, nothing could be done - not even escaping. Perhaps more than 50,000 people had gathered: the old and the young, women and men, even children. The entire square and the streets around it were overflowing with protesters.
The protester continued: “The next bullet hit the stomach of a young woman; the next hit a man’s groin; the next hit a young man’s shoulder; the next… and the next… I still hear the sound of those bullets and the subsequent shrapnel in my ears every night. A few people were there - we never found out if they were government agents or ordinary people - who were collecting the bodies of the slain from among the crowd and taking them to one of the nearby shops. We don’t even know what they did with those bodies.”
“At 11:00 or 11:30 PM, the shooting became heavier. They were aiming directly for our upper bodies. We moved toward North Allameh Tabatabaei Street. However, they were shooting intensely north of Kaj Square as well. A young boy was in front of me; he didn’t look more than 15 or 16 years old. He was right there when he was shot and fell. They were firing from all sides; we were running, and we could hear the shell casings hitting the ground just a short distance behind us.”
Regarding the atmosphere of the protests before the live fire began, he told IranWire: “I have seen nothing like it, and I don’t think anyone else has. The composition of the crowd was strange - people of all age groups were there. Everyone was side by side and of one heart. There is a famous photo from that gathering: a young man holding up a photo of the [late] Shah. That photo had been in the hands of an elderly woman. The young man took it from her and stood on a platform so he could show it to everyone.”
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