The athlete and her father were shot at during the protection that rocked Iran. (File)
Paris, France:
An Iranian archer who lost sight in her left eye after being shot by security forces said she has “no regrets” about taking part in nationwide protests.
Iranian authorities have cracked down on more than four months of anti-regime protests sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly violating strict dress codes for women.
Kosar Khoshnoudikia, a member of Iran’s national archery team, was shot last year at a rally in her hometown of Kermanshah, in the Kurdish-populated west, Norway-based human rights organization Hengaw said.
“I did not regret being there on that day, at that time,” Khoshnoudikia said in a video posted Monday by London-based Iran International TV.
Appearing without a headscarf and with her left eye hidden by a patch, Khoshnoudikia said in the video that she was shot in early December while attending a march in Kermanshah with her father.
“Three shots hit my right hand and one shot hit my left eye,” she said, adding that her father was also shot in the hand.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups have accused Iranian security forces of partially or completely blinding several protesters by firing live ammunition and metal bullets at close range.
Khoshnoudikia, who won silver in the women’s compound bow team event at the 2021 Asian Archery Championships, did not say whether she thought she could resume her sporting career.
Despite multiple surgeries, Hengaw says she has lost the sight in her left eye for good.
“I’m never sad about what happened,” she said. “I lost some things, but I gained a lot.”
It was not immediately clear where Khoshnoudikia was speaking from.
At least 481 people have been killed in the crackdown on the protest movement, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.
Khoshnoudikia said she lost sight in one eye “for a purpose. I never felt sad for myself and for what happened.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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