An Iranian woman who witnessed the bloody crackdown on protests in Iran has described how her neighbourhood turned into a war zone as security forces opened fire at crowds with live ammunition.
A government-imposed internet blackout in Iran, now in its third week, has prevented many accounts of what has happened from reaching the wider world. But some Iranians who have left the country have been able to share what they have seen.
Parnia, who lives in London, told the BBC that she was visiting her family in the central city of Isfahan when the protests broke out in the capital, Tehran. They quickly spread across the country, and within days there were hundreds of protesters in the Hakim Nezami and Khaghani neighbourhoods of Isfahan.
There were women and men from seven to 70 years old, she said. On just one street there were 200 to 300 people. People were chanting 'Death to the dictator' and 'Long live the shah'... Isfahan has seen protests and crackdowns down the years. But I had never seen anything like what happened during the recent unrest, which was sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency.
First, security forces fired tear gas at the protesters, she said. Then they formed a line and fired birdshot. I saw people getting shot and falling down, and I saw blood on the street. Parnia said she ran away to safety, where she found injured protesters in an apartment lobby with blood on the floor.
Videos verified by the BBC from that night show large crowds in the streets of Isfahan, with makeshift barricades set up by protesters to shield themselves from gunfire. Footage also captured the fiery protests at the building of the national broadcaster Irib, which was set ablaze.
In the days following, Parnia spoke of a scene of chaos at a local clinic treating injured protesters, with many refusing hospital care due to fears of arrest. After returning to London, she learned that doctors in Isfahan were performing surgeries on patients with birdshot injuries, while health workers reported that security forces monitored hospitals.
Parnia intends to participate in protests in the UK, voicing her anger at media narratives suggesting disunity among Iranians, stating, Iranians have shown what they want in the streets and paid a high price for it.
