Iranian teenager Armita denied burial in her hometown by authorities: family member

Shafaq News/ The family of Iranian teenager Armita Garavand plans to hold her funeral in Tehran on October 29 as the already tense country braces for potentially explosive protests following the death of the girl, who fell into a coma after an alleged confrontation with police over violating the country's mandatory dress code.

The news came just over a year after the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by Iran’s morality police for an alleged head-scarf violation sparked nationwide protests and international condemnation.

Garavand’s family said that the 17-year-old will be buried at Tehran’s Behesht Zahra Cemetery.

A relative told Radio Farda that “security agents” had told the family they would be given the body under the condition that the burial be held in Tehran and not in their native village in the western province of Kermanshah.

"We live in Tehran, but we don't bury our dead [here]. We hope to receive Armita's body,” the family member had said.

As of October 28, the family said the body had yet to be turned over, even with the agreement to hold the burial in Tehran, raising some uncertainty of the timing of the service.

Shortly after the subway incident, authorities isolated Garavand family members and attempted to prevent journalists from reaching them. Security measures were still being enforced as of October 28, fueling speculation that authorities were worried about renewed protests in the country.

Rights groups and journalists say Garavand and two of her friends were confronted on October 1 by police officers for not wearing the mandatory hijab as they tried to enter a Tehran subway station.

One of the friends has said the officers physically assaulted Garavand, who later fell unconscious after entering a subway carriage. Officials have said Garavand suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure, fainted, and fell to the floor, hitting her head.

A source at Fajr Hospital, who spoke to Radio Farda on condition of anonymity due to security reasons, said shortly after the incident that Garavand suffered internal bleeding in the brain.

"Unfortunately, she went into a coma for some time after suffering from brain damage. She died a few minutes ago," the official government news agency IRNA said on October 28.

Garavand's condition triggered concerns in the West and among international rights groups after a purported video of the incident circulated on social media. The video shows Garavand entering the subway car, but it does not show what exactly transpired in the seconds before her body is shown being carried back out of it.

Amnesty International has issued a statement saying authorities should allow an independent international delegation, including UN experts, to investigate the circumstances leading up to Garavand's hospitalization. Tehran has left the request unanswered.

Garavand’s case, and suggestions of a cover-up by the authorities, has drawn parallels with the events leading up to the death of 22-year-old Amini last year. Amini’s death soon after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s hijab law triggered the greatest threat to the Islamic republic's leadership since the 1979 revolution.

State media has shown Garavand's parents speaking of various potential causes for their daughter's fall and injury.

It is not clear if the statements were made under duress, but the Hengaw human rights group, which first reported the incident, said on October 5 that Garavand's mother, Shahin Ahmadi, had been detained temporarily by Iranian government security forces.

Earlier this month, Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran that was triggered by her death were awarded this year's Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament’s top rights award, the second honor bestowed upon Iranian women this month for their sometimes deadly struggle for human rights after activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize.