Iranian student Armita Garawand, who fell into a coma under controversial circumstances in the Tehran metro in early October, died on Saturday, Iranian media announced.
“Armita Garawand, a student from Tehran, died an hour ago after intensive medical treatment and 28 days of hospitalization in the special care unit,” announced the Borna Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The 16-year-old, from the Kurdish region, has been admitted to Fajr Hospital in Tehran since October 1 after he fainted in the Iranian capital’s subway.
The circumstances of this death are controversial. Authorities claimed the teen was the victim of a “breakdown” and denied any “verbal or physical altercation” between the teen and passengers or elements associated with the subway.
On Saturday, Iran’s Tasnim agency cited the “official opinion of doctors” that the girl had “suffered a fall that caused brain damage, followed by persistent convulsions, decreased cerebral oxygenation and cerebral edema, after a sudden drop in arterial blood pressure.
According to non-governmental organizations, the high school student was seriously injured during an attack by members of the moral police, which is responsible for enforcing the obligation for Iranian women to wear the Islamic veil in public.
This case came to light just over a year after the death, on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who was arrested by the moral police for allegedly violating the strict dress code imposed on women in Iran imposed.
The death sparked a massive protest movement in the country, killing several hundred people, including law enforcement officers, and leading to the arrest of thousands of people.
Source: DN
