Tehran
Young Iranian woman dies after incident in subway – allegations against moral police
The image from a surveillance camera from a subway station in the Iranian capital Tehran shows Armita Garawand being pulled out of a train car
© Iranian State Television / AP / DPA
The fate of an Iranian student reminds many of the case of the young Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini. Armita Garawand is said to have not worn a headscarf when she met the notorious morality police. After weeks in a coma, she has now died.
An Iranian teenager who collapsed under controversial circumstances in the Tehran subway about a month ago has died, according to a media report. The 17 year old Armita Garawand died on Saturday after 28 days in the intensive care unit, reported the Borna agency, which is linked to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Human rights groups had said Garawand was seriously injured by moral police, but Iranian authorities deny this.
Iranian teenager dies after subway incident
The case is reminiscent of the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September 2022, which sparked months of protests.
Garawand died on Saturday after “intensive medical treatment and 28 days of hospitalization in the intensive care unit,” Borna reported. The teenager, who comes from a Kurdish region, had been treated at Fajir Hospital in Tehran since October 1 after she lost consciousness in the subway. She was declared brain dead a week ago.
The circumstances of Garawand’s collapse are controversial. A video from the subway’s surveillance cameras, which was widely circulated online, showed how the teenager was taken away without a headscarf after she fainted in a train carriage.
According to activists earlier this month, the 17-year-old was seriously injured when she was attacked on the subway by female members of the moral police, which monitors compliance with the headscarf requirement for women in Iran. She therefore fell into a coma.
Iranian authorities deny that the teenager was attacked. According to the state news agency Irna, she fainted due to “low blood pressure.”
On Saturday, the Tasnim news agency quoted doctors as saying that the 17-year-old had “suffered a fall that led to a brain injury.” This was followed by cramps as well as “reduced oxygen supply to the brain and cerebral edema following a sudden drop in blood pressure.”
Accusations against moral police
The reform-oriented newspaper Ham Mihan called on the authorities to let independent media investigate the incident. On Wednesday, a lawmaker said Parliament must “intervene” and question Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi about it. Wahidi said earlier this month that authorities had investigated the incident and that the situation was “absolutely clear.” The “enemies” tried to turn every incident into a “controversy.”
Amini, who died in September last year, was arrested by the moral police for allegedly violating the strict rules on wearing the Islamic headscarf. She died a short time later in hospital. Her death sparked violent protests against the Iranian leadership. Hundreds of people, including security forces, were killed and thousands were arrested.
In recent months, the Iranian leadership has tightened measures against women and companies that do not comply with the headscarf requirement. In September, Iran’s parliament passed a law imposing up to 10 years in prison for women who violate the strict dress code.