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Paper short abstract

This paper analyses a widely circulated video recorded after the January 2026 mass political violence in Iran to examine how images mediate witnessing for those absent from the site of violence, and what digital documentation enables or forecloses when justice remains unresolved.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines a single video footage recorded in the immediate aftermath of the mass political violence of 18–19 January 2026 in Iran. Nearly 15 minutes long and shot in a single take, the video follows the recorder as he searches among rows of dead bodies in body bags at Kahrizak in Tehran. The footage drew attention for the scale of violence and the number of dead bodies it revealed amid internet shutdowns imposed by the Iranian regime and restricted access to sites of violence.

Situating the footage within ongoing political claims for justice, the paper asks what such images and their circulation do in the aftermath of political violence I compare the video’s reception among those of us who were absent from the sites of violence with other modes of witnessing and documentation. This includes the analytical work of Forensic Architecture, which used the footage to reconstruct the location and document the number of the dead. Through this comparison, the paper examines how different ways of engaging with images shape what counts as witnessing.

By attending closely to a single, widely circulated video, the paper reflects on the ethical, political, and epistemic stakes of seeing violence through digital images in contemporary conflicts. It asks what kinds of witnessing are enabled, or foreclosed, by digital video documentation, and what possibilities and limits such materials hold for the pursuit of justice, accountability, and historical record when justice itself remains unresolved.