Iranian girl who collapsed on Tehran metro declared ‘brain dead’

A teenage Iranian girl, who fell into a coma earlier this month following an alleged encounter with officers over violating the country’s hijab law, is said to be “brain dead”, state media reported.

Armita Geravand, 16, collapsed after boarding a Tehran metro train on October 1. Activists accused morality police of assaulting her for not wearing the hijab properly, but authorities insisted she fainted due to pre-existing medical conditions.

There was no immediate confirmation of Armita’s condition from her parents or activists. The teenager is being treated at Tehran’s Fajr hospital under tight security.

Right groups such first made Armita Geravand’s hospitalisation public, publishing photos of the 16-year-old girl on social media that showed her unconscious with a respiratory tube and bandage over her head, visibly on life support.

“Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff,” state media reported.

CCTV footage released by Iranian authorities shows Armita Geravand, with her hair uncovered, boarding a train at Tehran’s Shohada station with two other girls. Moments later, one of the girls backs out of the train and bends down.

She and several other passengers are then seen carrying an unconscious Armita by her arms and legs before laying her down on the platform. No footage from inside the train or the entrance to the station was released

There have been concerns by rights advocates that Geravand might face the same fate as Mahsa Amini, whose death in the custody of morality police last year sparked months of nationwide anti-government protests that posed one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers.

Iran has denied that Geravand was hurt after a confrontation on October 1 with officers enforcing the mandatory Islamic dress code in the Tehran metro.

In a separate development, a Revolutionary Court handed lengthy prison terms to two female journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death last year.

Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to seven years and six years in prison respectively after being convicted of “collaborating with the hostile American government” and “colluding against national security”, state news agency said. The women denied the charges and insisted that they were just doing their jobs.