Armita Geravand, the 16-year-old Iranian girl whose alleged encounter with officers over violating the country’s hijab law sparked outrage and accusations of brutality reminiscent of protests that swept Iran a year ago, has died following a series of medical complications. The official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday that Geravand had gone into a coma after suffering from brain damage. She passed away “a few minutes ago,” the news agency added.
Geravand, who was hospitalized on Oct 1 after falling into a coma, was in the process of being transferred to a different facility when she was pronounced brain dead. She was surrounded by family and friends when she died, the IRNA report said. Her parents appeared in state media footage saying that a blood pressure issue, a fall, or perhaps both contributed to her injuries, but they denied that she was pushed or attacked for not wearing the hijab. Activists in Iran and abroad have accused her of being pushed or assaulted by morality police because she didn’t wear the headscarf, which is compulsory for women under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.
Authorities have been criticized for their sloppy handling of the case. They have not released footage from inside the subway car where the incident occurred, and only fragmented images of Geravand being dragged unconscious from the train have been published. They also have not been able to explain why she suffered from such severe injuries in a city where the average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius.
Rights groups have warned that the government could face a nationwide protest movement similar to the one triggered by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody last year. Amini’s death in the hands of morality police sparked months of nationwide anti-government unrest that saw hundreds of people arrested.
Activists have called for an independent investigation by the United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran. They have cited the theocracy’s use of pressure on victims’ families and state TV’s history of airing hundreds of coerced confessions.
The NCRI Women’s Committee renewed its call for an investigation by the UN to determine the truth about what happened to Geravand. It said the regime is distorting the situation by disseminating conflicting reports in an attempt to reduce society’s sensitivity about her fate.
Meanwhile, Iranian media remained focused on the girl’s case, and many people posted pictures of her on social media as a mark of support. In many parts of Tehran, posters and graffiti have been erected in memory of the teenager who was dragged unconscious from the subway car. The girl, a resident of Kurdish-populated western Iran, was reportedly heading to school on the day of her collapse. A group of female colleagues accompanied her, the IRNA news agency reported. The group was arrested at the Shohada metro station on the outskirts of the capital, according to state media. The IRNA report did not say who the members were or what the nature of their relationship with Geravand was.