Activists say an Iranian woman falls into a coma after being beaten by moral police
Iranian teenager Armita Geravand, who was hospitalized in a coma after being beaten by moral police in the Tehran subway in early October, was declared brain dead this Sunday (22), state media reported.
Armita was struck on October 1st. In a video shared by authorities, a person can be seen being carried off the train and left on the platform.
“Followup investigations into the current health status of Armita Geravand indicate that despite the efforts of the medical team, her health condition appears certain to be brain death,” the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network said.
According to the Iranian Kurdish human rights group Hengaw, clashes broke out between Geravand and officials responsible for enforcing a dress code based on the country’s government’s interpretation of Islam. In Iran, women are forced to wear a veil that covers their hair and neck.
“We are following your case closely,” said one of the activists, who preferred to remain anonymous. “His relatives said there is a heavy plainclothes police presence at the hospital.”
The Iranian authorities denied the allegations.
“According to the videos that were analyzed, [a jovem] loses balance, probably due to the pressure drop, and falls right at the entrance of the train, half in the train and half outside the train,” said Masoud Dorosti, CEO of the company responsible for the Tehran subway.
The low quality of the footage provided by the government makes it difficult to identify the people seen in the images. Additionally, the recording does not contain a view from inside the train and there are cutting points in the video.
Activists are calling on authorities on social media to release images of the inside of the car.