Armita Geravand () was a 17-year-old Iranian girl who fell into a coma on the

Tehran Metro Tehran Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is the largest metro system in the Middle East. The system is owned and operated by Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway. It consists of six operational metro lines ...

on 1 October 2023 after an alleged encounter with officers enforcing Islamic Hijab. She was held in the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

of an Army hospital where she was declared brain dead on 22 October 2023, and declared dead on 28 October. This incident has been compared to the death of

Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of Iran's government, had a ...

and called "unbearable" by the German foreign minister. Armita was an 11th grade student of an art high school in Tehran. Armita was a professional

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

athlete. She had started this sport professionally since 2013 with a "Dan 3" in the martial sport. Armita was a member of "Anahid Razm" taekwondo team in Tehran with a "Pom One" belt. Armita was interested in

Korean culture The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean sovereign state, stat ...

and was a fan of the Korean music group

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

. She had painted the face of

Jimin Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment. Jim ...

, one of the main members of BTS, and imitated the style of clothing and hair of

and

Jungkook Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), better known as Jung Kook, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member and vocalist of South Korean boy band BTS. He has performed three solo songs as part of BTS' disc ...

Background

Geravand's family is originally from the

Tarhan District Tarhan District () is in Kuhdasht County, Lorestan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armen ...

in the

Kuhdasht County Kuhdasht County () is in Lorestan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Kuhdasht Kuhdasht () is a city in the Central District of Kuhdasht County, Lorestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the distr ...

Lorestan province Lorestan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In 2014 it was placed in Region ...

, Iran. In Iran, women are required by law to cover their hair and wear loose fitting clothes as part of strict Islamic dress codes. Those who violate these rules face public rebuke, fines, or arrest by the

Guidance Patrol The Guidance Patrol () or morality police is an Islamic religious police force and vice squad in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its role is to enforce Sharia law as defined by Iranian legislation, with a particula ...

, also known as the morality police.

Incident

On 1 October 2023, 17-year-old Armita Geravand was seen going into the

with two friends. Her friends then dragged her out of the train, unconscious, called for medical help, and she was taken to a hospital. She was admitted into the hospital with

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

. A witness claimed that soon after Geravand entered the subway car a hijab enforcer started arguing with her because she was not wearing a headscarf. The argument turned violent, and the hijab enforcer physically attacked her. According to the Tehran and Houmah Metro Company, the TWM-EM-1203 series subway car that Geravand boarded is equipped with multiple video surveillance cameras. However, Iranian news agencies have not released any footage from inside the train.

Allegations

According to the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw, Geravand was confronted by morality police officers for not wearing a headscarf and, after a brief altercation, she was assaulted and fell, causing her to hit her head and lose consciousness. Iranian authorities have denied any physical confrontation took place and claim she fainted due to low blood pressure. Security camera footage from the metro station shows Geravand entering the train without a headscarf along with two other girls. Moments later, she is carried off the train unconscious by her friends. Iran's state media claims this footage proves their narrative but does not show the events inside the train car leading up to Geravand's coma. An analysis from

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

's evidence laboratory alleges that the video was sped up in multiple sections and that, based on time stamps, there is a gap of 3 minutes and 16 seconds in the footage.

Aftermath

Geravand's mother and a journalist for the daily newspaper ''

Shargh ''Shargh'' (; also as ''Sharq'') is one of the most popular Reformist daily newspapers in Iran. The owner iMehdi Rahmanian the editor-in-chief of the newspaper iAli Dehghanand the editor-in-chief of online iSina Rahimpour History and profil ...

'' who was interviewing her were arrested. The intensive care unit of the hospital where Geravand was taken was guarded by security agents. On 22 October, Iran's state media announced Geravand was declared brain dead after being in a coma for several weeks. On 28 October, Geravand was declared dead. The incident has drawn comparisons to that of

, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died under suspicious circumstances on 16 September 2022 while in the custody of the morality police. Amini's death sparked nationwide protests across Iran. In response to the protests, the regime has cracked down on activism and tightened hijab laws. The Geravand case has drawn international criticism and calls for an independent investigation. Iran's government has dismissed international criticism, calling it "interventionist".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geravand, Armita 2020s in Tehran Geravand, Armita Crime in Iran Deaths by person in Iran Deaths in police custody in Iran Guidance Patrol Hijab October 2023 in Iran Victims of police brutality in Iran Sharia in Iran Violence against women in Iran Women's rights in Iran Violence against children in Iran Incidents of violence against girls Violent child deaths