The case is reminiscent of the late Iranian Jina Mahsa Amini: A 16-year-old is hospitalized after an incident in a Tehran subway and is now in a coma. According to human rights organizations, moral watchdogs were involved in the case.
In Iran, a 16-year-old student was taken to hospital after an incident in the Tehran subway. Human rights organizations such as the Norway-based organization Hengaw spoke on Tuesday of an incident involving the country’s notorious moral watchdogs. The trigger is said to have been a violation of the headscarf requirement. Armita Garawand is in a coma.
According to Hengaw on Tuesday, the Kurdish woman was seriously injured in a confrontation with female members of the morality police. According to the human rights organization, 16-year-old Garawand, who comes from the city of Kermanshah in the western Iranian Kurdish region, was taken into custody by moral police officers at Tehran’s Shohada subway station on Sunday and sustained serious injuries. She is in the hospital under tightened security conditions and not even family members are allowed to visit her, Hengaw continued.
Conflicting information about the incident
However, according to local media and Iranian authorities, the student was taken to a hospital on Sunday after fainting on the subway. It was said that the girl lost her balance due to a drop in blood pressure and then hit her head against the edge of the train. Her friends then carried her out of the subway car and called the emergency services.
A video purporting to show the incident was shared on online networks. It shows how a girl, who is apparently not wearing a head covering, is pushed into the subway by policewomen. According to the exiled news portal IranWire, Garawand suffered a head injury in the confrontation. According to the state news agency Irna, Tehran subway director Masud Dorosti spoke of “rumors” – and dismissed them as unfounded.
Video footage from the metro station published by the state news agency Irna is also said to show the incident. You can see a group of women wearing headscarves entering a subway car and just a few seconds later carrying an unconscious person out again.
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A journalist was temporarily arrested on the way to the hospital, the daily newspaper “Sharg” reported. She wanted to inquire about the young people’s health. She is now at large again.
Users wrote on social media that they were reminded of the case of the Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old fell into a coma and subsequently died after being arrested by moral police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code.
Since the death of Mahsa Amini, the authorities in the country have been paying increased attention to possible reasons for protests. Amini’s death sparked weeks of protests against Tehran last fall.
In recent weeks, the authorities in Iran have increased pressure on women to follow strict clothing regulations – including the hijab, the Islamic headscarf required in Iran.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
