Moein Abdollahi, 18, Woman, Life, Freedom protester blinded in one eye, flees Iran under security pressure
Hengaw: Monday, April 28, 2025
Moein Abdollahi, a Kurdish youth from Sardasht and a survivor of the state’s violent crackdown on the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, has fled Iran under ongoing pressure from the Islamic Republic’s security agencies. Abdollahi, who lost sight in one eye when he was 16, also witnessed the injury of several other teenagers during the protests.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Abdollahi, now 18, left his hometown due to relentless harassment by Iranian state institutions. Hengaw possesses medical records documenting the injuries he sustained during the protests.
Now residing in the United Kingdom, Abdollahi told Hengaw in an interview that he has completely lost vision in one eye, while the other has also been partially damaged.
On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at the early stages of the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement, Abdollahi—then just 16—was severely wounded in the eye by close-range shotgun fire from government forces during a protest at the “Sheikh Molana” intersection in the city of Sardasht.
According to his account, armed state forces attacked demonstrators with shotguns, pellet guns, batons, and pepper spray. During that assault, not only was he severely injured in both eyes, but he also directly witnessed widespread violence by the security forces and the wounding of many girls and other protesters at the hands of government agents.
After the attack, locals sheltered him in a nearby home where he received basic first aid. However, transferring him to medical centers in Sardasht and later Tabriz was fraught with danger due to intense security monitoring.
Moein Abdollahi recalled that he had to conceal his identity on the way to the hospital—hiding in the back of a vehicle or even underneath the seat to avoid detection. Ultimately, doctors concluded that both of his eyes had been severely damaged and that restoring vision in one of them was no longer possible.
After being identified by the Ministry of Intelligence, Abdollahi was repeatedly summoned and threatened, ultimately prompting him to flee Iran.
It is worth mentioning that Moein Abdollahi also faced immense hardships during his escape from Iran. Despite his poor physical condition, he endured a long and perilous journey.
Now having left Iran in hopes of finding safety and a way to treat his eyes, Moein Abdollahi has called on human rights organizations to address the situation of the families of those killed, detained, and injured during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement.
