A 16-year-old Iranian girl who was injured in the Tehran metro earlier this month has died after being in a coma for at least two weeks. International news agencies reported this on Saturday. The teenage girl, whose name is Armita Geravand, is said to have not worn a headscarf during the metro ride – which is mandatory under Iranian Islamic law.
According to eyewitness accounts, Geravand was attacked by vice squad officers on the subway, the New York-based NGO said Center for Human Rights in Iran. She was then allegedly carried unconscious from the subway, taken to a military hospital and kept in isolation by authorities. “Armita’s voice has been silenced forever, meaning we can no longer hear her story,” the organization said.
Geravand’s death threatens to reignite protests for women’s rights in Iran and the authorities’ strict crackdown on the headscarf requirement. About a year ago, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died. She was arrested by the Iranian moral police because her headscarf did not fit properly, and later died under police supervision. Amini’s death led to large-scale protests inside and outside Iran at the time.
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16-year-old brain dead after alleged confrontation with Iranian moral police