An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on the Tehran Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, state media reported on Saturday.
The death of Armita Geravand comes after her being in a coma for weeks in Tehran and after the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests at the time.
Geravand’s Oct. 1 injury and now her death threaten to reignite that popular anger, particularly as women in Tehran and elsewhere still defy Iran’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law as a sign of their discontent with Iran’s theocracy.
“Armita’s voice has been forever silenced, preventing us from hearing her story,” the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran wrote. “Yet we do know that in a climate where Iranian authorities severely penalize women and girls for not adhering to the state’s forced-hijab law, Armita courageously appeared in public without one.”
“As long as the Iranian government enforces its draconian mandatory hijab law, the lives of girls and women in Iran will hang in the balance, vulnerable to severe rights violations, including violence and even death,” the center added.
Geravand was injured at the Meydan-E Shohada, or Martyrs’ Square, Metro station in southern Tehran.
“Unfortunately, the brain damage to the victim caused her to spend some time in a coma and she died a few minutes ago,” an Islamic Republic News Agency report read. “According to the official theory of Armita Geravand’s doctors, after a sudden drop in blood pressure, she suffered a fall, a brain injury, followed by continuous convulsions, decreased cerebral oxygenation and a cerebral edema.”
What happened in the few seconds after Armita Geravand entered the train on Oct. 1 remains in question. While a friend told Iranian state television that she hit her head on the station’s platform, the soundless footage aired by the broadcaster from outside of the car is blocked by a bystander. Just seconds later, her limp body is carried off.
However, Iranian state TV’s report did not include any footage from inside the train itself and offered no explanation on why it had not been released. Most train cars on the Tehran Metro have multiple surveillance cameras, which are viewable by security personnel.
Geravand’s parents appeared in state media footage saying a blood pressure issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughter’s injury.
Activists abroad have alleged Geravand might have been pushed or attacked for not wearing the hijab.
They also demanded an independent investigation by the UN’ fact-finding mission on Iran, citing the theocracy’s use of pressure on victims’ families and state TV’s history of airing hundreds of coerced confessions.
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