According to the government, the 16-year-old fell and hit her head after her blood pressure dropped.
Tehran, Iran – A young Iranian girl has died weeks after being seriously injured in an incident at a Tehran subway station, with the Iranian government and activists giving differing accounts of exactly what happened.
Armita Geravand, 16, died in a hospital in the capital after spending 28 days in intensive care, state media confirmed on Saturday.
The incident occurred on October 1 when Geravand, who was not wearing the headscarf required by Iranian law, entered the Shohada subway station.
CCTV footage released by Iranian authorities showed Geravand entering the train station, entering a small shop inside and then boarding a subway car with two other school friends.
The footage, this time from outside the subway car where the incident occurred, then shows one of the friends walking backwards moments after boarding the subway car, and it appears someone would have fallen. Then we see Geravand being carried out of the car, completely unconscious.
No footage was shown from inside the subway car because, according to authorities, there were no cameras inside.
Human rights organizations and activists based abroad claim Geravand was harassed by government agents because of the lack of her hijab.
The government has rejected that claim, saying she suffered a drop in blood pressure that caused her to fall and hit her head.
State media also published an interview with Geravand’s parents, who said she fell and there was no physical altercation. Activists say the video may have been filmed under duress, a practice the government has previously denied.
A report by a foreign-based human rights group earlier this month said Geravand’s mother had been arrested. The lawsuit was rejected by the Iranian judiciary.
The incident came more than a year after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by moral police in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to mandatory hijab rules in place since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution .
Amini’s death sparked widespread protests across Iran that lasted for months and turned deadly.
Following the protests, a United Nations fact-finding mission was set up. Iran said it would not cooperate because it sees it as politically motivated to put pressure on Tehran.
Amnesty International released a statement earlier this month calling on the Iranian government to allow an independent investigation into Geravand’s death that would also involve the UN mission.
A new hijab law that would impose new and harsher penalties for people found by authorities to not comply with mandatory hijab requirements is currently undergoing final review.