A 16-year-old Iranian girl named Armita Geravand is in critical condition after an alleged dispute over her hijab, activists report.
The girl is currently in hospital, in critical condition, after she was left in a coma after an alleged encounter with officers in Tehran’s metro for violating hijab rules.
The case has raised fears that Geravand could meet the same fate as Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who tragically died last year while in a coma in the custody of the morality police, after There were nationwide protests for several months.
Authorities have denied claims by human rights groups, saying Gerawand fell into a coma following a dispute with officers enforcing the Islamic dress code on Sunday.
Nonetheless, the Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw published a photo of him unconscious in the Tehran hospital where he was admitted after the incident. The Iranian Interior Ministry has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the incident.
An activist revealed, “We are closely monitoring his case. He is in a coma in the intensive care unit of the hospital and is in critical condition… His relatives have complained about the presence of a large number of people in plain clothes at the hospital. Have seen.” Located in Iran.
Another activist said security forces have prevented Geravand’s parents from sharing her photo on social media or associating with human rights organizations. Both activists chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter.
CCTV footage broadcast on IRNA showed Geravand and two female friends walking from a metro platform to a train without the mandatory hijab. Upon entering the cabin, one of the girls suddenly backed away and landed on the ground, while the other girl was pulled unconscious from the cabin by fellow passengers. The authenticity of this footage could not be immediately confirmed.
Massoud Dorosti, head of the Tehran Metro Operating Company, told IRNA that CCTV footage showed no signs of verbal or physical altercation between passengers or staff.
On Monday, an Iranian journalist was briefly detained while attempting to inquire about Gervand’s condition in the hospital, Iranian media reported.
“Iranian security institutions have attributed his condition to low blood pressure – a scenario often cited by such institutions,” Iran-based rights group Dadban shared on social media.
In a video published on state news agency IRNA, Gervand’s parents noted that their daughter experienced a drop in blood pressure, lost her balance and hit her head on the subway cabin. Her mother said, “I believe my daughter’s blood pressure has gone down, although I’m not completely sure. I believe they mentioned her blood pressure being low.” He said that it is unnecessary to promote controversy.
However, rights groups on social media have called for the release of internal footage of the cabin, alleging that her parents’ statement was given under duress.
“Parents deserve to be at their daughter’s bedside, not in front of a camera,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on the social media platform #ArmitaGarawand.
