TEHRAN -- An Iranian paramilitary group has been going into hospitals to arrest people injured in street demonstrations, Amnesty International says.
"The Basijis are waiting for them," said Banafsheh Akhlaghi, the group's western regional director, referring to the militia group that has played a key role in cracking down on protests following the June 12 elections.
Relatives of people who have been detained say the Basij bar hospital staff from getting information from the injured and then, once they are treated, detain them, Akhlaghi said. She said doctors are ordered not to ask patients how they were hurt.
CNN talked to a woman who said she managed to see a private doctor after she was injured, because she was afraid to go to a hospital.
"The point is, when they are being taken to the hospital they don't actually get there," a friend who went to the doctor with her said. "Just like the reporters are being told not to report what they really see. Hospitals, administrative levels, are being told to stay out of the public because they're saying you're accusing the regime of being hostile."
