Suspicions have been raised that a teenage Iranian woman fell into a coma after being assaulted by an Iranian guidance patrol called the ‘moral police’ for not wearing her hijab properly. Hengau, an organization that protects the human rights of Kurds, a minority group in Iran, filed a complaint against the guidance patrol, alleging serious violence. Iranian authorities deny the assault allegations.
According to the BBC on the 4th, Armita Gerawand (16) is in a coma and is being treated at a hospital after clashing with female morality police on the 1st in the subway in Tehran, the capital of Iran, over violating hijab regulations. According to Hengau, during the hijab crackdown, the morality police severely assaulted Gerawand, and as a result, Gerawand is currently in critical condition.
According to a video released by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Gerawand, who boarded the subway with his friends inside a subway station platform, is dragged off the platform by morality police and some passengers in a subsequent video. It is believed that Gera Wand fainted without being able to control his body. Iranian authorities said it was “just hypotensive shock,” but Hengau claims that “there was an obvious act of violence.” The existence of video inside the subway has not been confirmed. “There were no altercations or physical clashes between passengers and metro staff,” Massoud Dorosti, head of Tehran Metro operator, told IRNA news agency.
According to Hengau, Gerawand’s parents are currently prohibited from visiting their daughter, and the police have taken measures to prevent the parents from posting photos related to the incident on social media. The authorities are reacting extremely sensitively, with an Iranian journalist who visited the hospital to check on Gerawand’s condition being arrested by the police. This is because the so-called ‘Hijab protests’ that have been raging throughout Iran since September of last year were triggered by the mysterious death of Mahsa Amini, who was 22 at the time, while being investigated for violating hijab regulations. At the time, Amini’s bereaved family claimed that there were signs of beatings and that police torture was the cause of death. In response, the police denied assault, saying, “Amini’s underlying disease was the cause of death.”
As a similar incident occurred about a year after the Amini incident, Iranian authorities are paying close attention to whether nationwide anti-government protests will be repeated. Last month, commemoration ceremonies were held across Iran to mark the first anniversary of Amini’s death, and anti-government protests continued around the world denouncing the Iranian government’s human rights abuses.
Cairo =
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.