In Iran, a young girl is in a coma after being beaten by moral police on a subway, according to human rights activists. Parallels to the Mahsa Amini case are already being drawn online.
What exactly happened in the subway car of the Tehran Metro on October 1st is not yet known. Images from a security camera only show the moment in which a person is carried out of the carriage by several girls and women. It is said to be 16-year-old Armita Garawand, who was probably already unconscious at the time. The human rights organization Hengaw, which is based in exile but is considered well connected in Iran, first reported on the case on October 3rd. She refers to several reports that she has received. Accordingly, officers physically attacked the girl in the subway, probably because of a violation of the Islamic dress code.
The Amini case sparked nationwide protests
Iranian authorities contradict: This The girl had problems with blood pressure and lost her balance as a result. She hit her head. The head of the Tehran subway emphasizes: They checked the video footage from the cameras on the train and were unable to find any incidents involving officers. However, this exact material has not yet been published.
For many Iranians, the case brings back dark memories. Users wrote on social media that a case like that of Jina Mahsa Amini was happening again. The 22-year-old fell into a coma in September 2022 and subsequently died after being arrested by moral police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code. Her death sparked nationwide protests.
Hospital of security forces sealed off
The regime in Tehran is now trying to prevent this. According to several eyewitnesses, the hospital where Armita Garawand is being treated was said to have been cordoned off by security forces. The journalist Maryam Lotfi, who, according to her newspaper “Shargh”, wanted to find out about the student’s health, was temporarily arrested. Here, too, there is a parallel to the Amini case: Nilofar Hamedi, also a reporter for “Shargh”, was arrested after a photo she published showing Amini’s grieving parents and is still in prison today; she faces the death penalty.
Family apparently threatened
Meanwhile, state television published an interview with Armita Garawand’s parents as supposed evidence of the girl’s health problems. The mother reports a falling blood pressure, but is audibly struggling with the wording. Activists report that the family is under massive pressure from the authorities. Jina Mahsa Amini’s family is also said to have been repeatedly threatened, most recently on the day of her daughter’s death in mid-September. The human rights organization Hengaw also writes, citing internal sources, that security forces confiscated the cell phones of Garawand’s relatives and hospital staff after a photo was published online showing the girl in a hospital bed, connected to tubes.
Baerbock: “It’s unbearable”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on the news service The girl’s parents should not be dragged in front of the cameras, Baerbock continued, but rather had the right to be at their daughter’s bedside.
Increased pressure on women in Iran
In recent months, the regime has gradually increased the pressure on women to follow strict dress codes. Many women, especially in large cities, have been resisting this pressure since the protests broke out over a year ago, despite the risks. A law is currently being passed that will further tighten the penalties – including high fines and long prison sentences.