At protests in 2022
Report: Activist killed – Iran’s judiciary denies it
Demonstration in September 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. photo
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
The death of young Nika Schakarami caused great horror during the protests in autumn 2022. Investigative research sheds new light on how she is said to have died.
Iranian security forces sexually abused and killed a young activist during mass protests in 2022, according to an investigative report. This emerged from secret and previously unpublished documents, as the British broadcaster BBC reported on Tuesday. Specifically, it was about the case of the then 16-year-old Nika Shakarami, whose death in September 2022 led to an outcry in the women-led uprisings both in Iran and internationally. Iran’s judiciary immediately objected and dismissed the report as propaganda.
According to investigative research, three members of the security forces sexually assaulted the young woman in a van. When Shakarami tried to defend herself, the men beat her, which ultimately led to her death. The activist had previously taken part in demonstrations. In a video that was later widely shared on social media, Shakarami can be seen setting fire to headscarves – a symbol of protest at the time against the Islamic Republic system.
Security forces filmed them and then identified them, the BBC continued. The fact that the alleged sexual attack and killing has now been made public is due to an internal investigation by the powerful Revolutionary Guard. The documents are said to show how the security forces tried to cover up the young woman’s death. The authenticity could not be independently verified.
Family members contradict official statement
Iran’s judiciary firmly rejected the report on Tuesday and accused the media in the West of fomenting sentiment against the Islamic Republic. An article by the justice portal Misan also said that Shakarami was not killed during the demonstrations. In the fall of 2022, the police said that the young woman had fallen from a high-rise building and that her body was only discovered by neighbors the next day.
Family members had contradicted this account early on and expressed doubts about the official explanation. They blamed the secret service for their deaths.
In autumn 2022, the death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini triggered the most serious protests in the history of the Islamic Republic. For months, young people in particular took to the streets to demonstrate against the Islamic system of rule. Amini is said to have worn her headscarf incorrectly, was arrested by the notorious moral guards and died shortly afterwards. A UN commission of experts concluded that physical violence following her arrest led to her death.