Tehran Metro Tragedy: Young Armita Geravand Passes Away

• Armita Geravand, in a coma after an alleged altercation with morality police, has died.
• Armita, 16, collapsed on a Tehran metro train on October 1.
• Activists claimed police assaulted her for not wearing a hijab, authorities said she fainted.

An Iranian teenager who slipped into a coma following an alleged altercation with morality police earlier this month has passed away, as reported by state media and activists.

Armita Geravand, 16, collapsed after boarding a Tehran metro train on October 1.

While activists claimed that morality police had assaulted her for not wearing a hijab, authorities maintained that she had fainted.

She succumbed to her injuries on Saturday, having suffered from brain damage, according to the state news agency.

The Borna news agency, associated with the youth ministry, stated that Armita had undergone 28 days of intensive medical treatment before her death. There is no immediate confirmation from Armita’s parents.

Hengaw, a human rights group based in Norway, which focuses on Iran’s Kurdish ethnic minority, received a report that Armita had “become the latest victim of forced hijab and has died after 28 days of hospitalization.”

They called for an independent medical team from Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Committee of the Red Cross to investigate her death, stating that the Iranian government had tried to distort the narrative surrounding her death.

This case drew comparisons with the tragedy of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in custody in September 2022 after being detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly.”

Her death triggered antigovernmental protests that continue to this day, resulting in a violent crackdown by security forces, leading to hundreds of casualties and thousands of detentions.

Irna’s report on Saturday said that Armita Geravand had “hit the back of her head against the edge of the platform” when she collapsed at Tehran’s Shohada station.

“Unfortunately, she went into a coma for some time after suffering from brain damage. She died a few minutes ago,” it added.

Hengaw alleged that Armita “fell into a coma after an assault by special officers enforcing compulsory hijab”.

The managing director of the Tehran metro has previously refuted any claims of “verbal or physical conflict” between Armita and either passengers or metro staff.

CCTV footage, released by Iranian authorities, depicts Armita, her hair uncovered, entering a train with two other girls. Shortly after, one of the girls exits the train and stoops down.

Subsequently, Armita, carried by her arms and legs by several other passengers, is placed on the platform. There is no available footage from inside the train or at the station entrance.

A photo of Armita, shared by Hengaw on social media two days after her collapse, shows her lying on a bed with a bandaged head, connected to what seems to be a breathing tube.

Armita was declared brain dead on a Sunday. Her father, Bahman Geravand, informed Hengaw that doctors had conveyed there was “no hope of recovery” at the time.

Hengaw reported that the teenager had not undergone any surgical procedures during her hospitalization due to her extremely fragile condition.

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