Armita Geravand, a teenage girl who was spotted unconscious after potentially encountering police officers on a subway without wearing a hijab in early October, is apparently declared “brain dead”, as reported by an Iranian semi-state media article posted last Sunday.
Footage from the surveillance cameras in Tehran’s metro station reveals 16-year-old Geravand, on her way to school, entering the train carriage with her hair uncovered at around 7:08 am on October 1. A few minutes later, her lifeless body was pulled out of the carriage. She was immediately transported to the hospital where she has remained in a coma since the incident. The events that happened within the few minutes after her entry into the train remain a mystery.
For the incident, Iranian officials blamed a blood pressure problem, which they theorize led to Geravand falling and hitting her head. However, activists suggested that she might have been assaulted by the officers inside the carriage for violating the mandatory hijab law in Iran. Of note is the announcement about the return of morality police on July 16 this year by Iran. Their role is enforcing Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, compelling women to wear hijab.
On Sunday, the Kurdish-Iranian human rights group, Hengaw which brought the episode to the public’s attention, indicated that Geravand’s medical team had informed her parents that her brain had stopped functioning and there was no chance of recovery.
Allegations suggest that Geravand’s family and friends were threatened into covering up for the government regarding the events in the subway carriage on October 1. This event occurred approximately two weeks after the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in detention after being apprehended for not complying with the obligatory hijab rule in Iran. While activist groups mark Geravand as “another victim of forced hijab” following Amini, Iranian officials are concerned about Geravand’s incident triggering another series of protests like those spurred by Mahsa Amini’s death.
Activists have demanded that the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was established following the UN Human Rights Council resolution S35/1 after the death of Mahsa Amini, conduct an independent investigation. The Mission’s mandates include a comprehensive and independent examination of alleged human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran related to the protests that began on September 16, 2022, especially concerning women and children.”