Iran morality police accused of beating teenager into coma

By Nathan Morley

A human rights group says a 16-year-old Iranian girl has sustained severe injuries after being dragged out of a train after flouting strict laws that force women to cover their hair with a hijab.

Reports from Iran suggest Armita Geravand, 16, suffered injuries at the hands of the so-called morality police at a station in Tehran on Sunday.

It is understood she is currently in a coma at Fajr Hospital. Unconfirmed reports say she is in a critical condition.

The case has sparked fears the teenager could suffer the same fate as Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old whose death last year while in the custody of morality police sparked nationwide protests.

Amini was arrested for supposedly wearing a hijab headscarf in an improper fashion. Campaigners say she suffered a deadly blow to the head, a claim denied by officials.

Police argue that she died of natural causes, but her family believe that she was exposed to beating and torture.

Her death and arrest came amid a government clampdown on women’s rights.

A year after Mahsa Amini's death, the protests have largely died down. But sporadic demonstrations still occasionally happen and many girls and women have stopped covering their hair in public in open disobedience of the dress code.