The Iranian teenager who fell into a coma after being approached by authorities for violating clothing laws – the “hijab law” – at the beginning of the month, was declared brain dead this Sunday (22), according to state media reports. from the country.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, the latest monitoring of the health status of 16-year-old Armita Geravand “indicates that her condition as brain dead appears certain, despite the efforts of the medical team”, records the The Guardian.
Iranian authorities have denied claims by rights groups that the 16-year-old was beaten by authorities enforcing the mandatory Islamic dress code in the Tehran subway.
Amita’s brain death could reignite nationwide protests similar to those following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was in the custody of the “morals police” in September last year, allegedly for also violating the dress code.
At the same time, an Iranian court sentenced two journalists to long prison terms over their coverage of Mahsa’s death, according to state media reports. Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison, respectively, on charges of, among others, collaboration with the United States government and actions against national security.
Lawyers for the two journalists rejected the accusations. Niloofar was detained after taking a photo of Mahsa’s parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital, where their daughter was in a coma. Elaheh was arrested after covering the young woman’s funeral in the Kurdish city of Saqez, where the protests began.
The Iranian news network said the “sentences issued” are subject to appeal. If confirmed, the time the women have already spent in Evin Prison, where most political prisoners are held, will be deducted from their sentences, according to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
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