A 16-year-old girl, Armita Geravand, has suffered a perplexing injury while boarding a Metro train in Iran’s capital, igniting fresh anger and concern just days after the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, which had led to nationwide protests.
The events surrounding Geravand’s injury, which occurred on Sunday, remain shrouded in mystery. According to a friend interviewed by Iranian state television, she apparently struck her head on the station’s platform. However, the footage aired by the broadcaster, captured from outside the train car, is obstructed by a bystander, leaving crucial moments unobserved. Moments later, Geravand’s limp body was carried away from the scene.
Both Geravand’s mother and father made appearances on state media, suggesting that their daughter’s injury may have been related to a blood pressure issue, a fall, or a combination of both factors.
Activists abroad, however, have raised troubling questions about the incident. They suspect that Geravand may have been pushed or attacked due to her lack of a headscarf, an act seen as violating Iran’s strict dress code. These activists are now demanding an independent investigation by the United Nations’ fact-finding mission on Iran. They point to the theocracy’s history of applying pressure on victims’ families and airing coerced confessions on state TV as reasons to doubt the official narrative.
As the investigation into Armita Geravand’s injury unfolds, the echoes of Mahsa Amini’s tragic death and the subsequent nationwide protests continue to reverberate within Iran and draw international attention to issues of individual rights and freedoms within the country.