The revolt in Iran has been going on for more than a month and the repression is increasing by the authorities, reaching minors. On Monday (17), the death of Asra Panahi, a 16-year-old high school student who died under the blows of security forces at the school, was confirmed by the Coordinating Council of Associations of the Union of Iranian Teachers in the city of Ardabil, in the northwest of the country.
Another student is in a coma. The incident took place in Shahed High School on Wednesday of last week (12), according to the Council’s Telegram channel. Some employees of the establishment forced the high school girls to go to a pro-regime rally without their parents’ permission. Among the teenagers, some removed their veils and spoke out against discrimination in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Iranian newspaper Hammihan detailed that plainclothes police intervened, insulting and beating the high school girls, chasing them into the institution. “One of them, Asra Panahi, unfortunately died from beatings after being transferred to a city hospital. Others were arrested. There is no clear information on how many,” says the Coordinating Council of Associations of the Iranian Teachers’ Union.
The mayor and deputy of Ardabil denied this, saying that Asra Panahi had committed suicide and state media published two videos of the girl’s uncle explaining that she had died of a heart condition.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 240 people have been killed in the crackdown in recent weeks. Amnesty International identified 23 children, aged between 11 and 17, among the victims.
Some faces and names have already become symbols, including Nika Shakarami and Sarina Esmailzadeh, both 16, killed in the street under murky circumstances. In both cases, authorities deny any responsibility, citing a fatal fall for Nika and suicide for Sarina. “She went to fight and never came back,” Nika’s aunt Atash Shakarami wrote on Instagram.
The first protests began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September while being arrested. The crime she committed, according to the authorities, was “dressing inappropriately”, for not wearing a hijab (scarf). According to witnesses, she was tortured and executed.
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