The young teen remains in a coma, with her condition showing no improvement since the incident on October 1st. The incident transpired when Geravand, accompanied by her friends, boarded a train at Tehran’s Shohada Metro Station. According to witnesses who spoke to The Guardian, the altercation began when a female hijab enforcer confronted Geravand about not wearing a headscarf. The situation escalated quickly.
“The chador-clad woman screamed at her asking her why she was not covered,” one witness recounted. “Armita retorted, ‘Do I ask you to remove your headscarf? Why are you asking me to wear one?’ This led to a violent attack where the hijab enforcer allegedly pushed the teen.”
The situation post-incident has grown even more concerning. Geravand’s family is currently under stringent security measures, being denied the right to see their ailing daughter. Armita’s mother faced a violent arrest after an alleged attempt to see her daughter in ICU. Intelligence agencies have spread their net of intimidation to Geravand’s high school, cautioning students against speaking to news outlets.
Adding to the cloud of suspicion is the conspicuous absence of CCTV footage from inside the train. Although Tehran metro trains are typically equipped with multiple surveillance cameras, the state media has neither shown nor provided any explanation for withholding the footage. Opposition sources claim that at least 100 seconds of the video is missing.
Reports on social media have identified a woman accompanying Geravand’s parents during a hospital interview as Kowsar Jowhari. She is a teacher and a member of the Basij in Shahriar city but has no familial relation to the Geravands.
Human rights organizations have sounded the alarm on the incident. Amnesty International, on October 6, made an urgent plea for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate the circumstances surrounding Geravand’s condition. The call comes in stark contrast to what appears to be a cover-up effort by the Iranian government.
As Armita Geravand’s battle for life continues, it serves as a grim reminder of the lengths to which the state can go to stifle dissent and suppress individual freedoms. Her plight symbolizes the challenges faced by young Iranian women who merely seek to exercise their fundamental freedoms. The international community can only hope and pray for her swift recovery and justice.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
