Parsa Ghobadi, a young protester who was shot in both eyes during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, on 21 November 2022, was arrested by security forces in the city on 4 September.
The current whereabouts and fate of the young man from Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, remain unknown.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that security agents arrested Ghobadi without a warrant at his father’s workplace in Kermanshah.
Despite ongoing medical treatment, he has been deprived of his medication since his arrest.
His family has recently sought information from the court and security services about the charges against him and where he is being held, but no updates have been provided.
Ghobadi, 18, was injured in both eyes on 21 November during last year’s anti-government protests in Kermanshah when the paramilitary Basij forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired a pellet gun at him.
After being injured, he was arrested and subjected to an hour of torture and interrogation before being released on a nearby street near his home.
He previously recounted the incident on his personal Instagram account, saying: “I was arrested after being shot in the eyes. They put a gun to the back of my head and forced me into a kneeling position for half an hour. They would hit me on the head if I moved the slightest bit”.
Ghobadi also shared an update about his injured eyes on Instagram a few months ago, revealing: “The left eye remains without vision despite two surgeries, while the right eye has significantly impaired and blurred vision after eight surgeries, and I can only read and write with the help of glasses. In addition, I still have seven bullets lodged near my brain.”
