ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian teenager Armita Garawand has died after nearly a month in a coma following an alleged assault on the Tehran metro by officers enforcing a strict dress code, IRNA reported on Saturday. The 16 year old died in hospital after 28 days in a coma caused by a head injury she sustained in a fall after her blood pressure dropped, according to IRNA. Human rights activists accuse officials of a cover up and say there is evidence Garawand was injured by enforcers of Iran’s mandatory hijab law, drawing similarities with the case of Zhina Mahsa Amini whose death in custody a year ago sparked nationwide protests. “Iranian authorities are waging a concerted campaign of denial and distortion to cover up the truth about the circumstances that led to Armita Garawand’s collapse, chillingly reminiscent of their bogus narratives and unplausible explanations of Mahsa/Zhina Amini’s hospitalization just over a year ago,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Diana Eltahawy said earlier this month. Amnesty International investigated Garawand’s case and concluded that Iranian officials distorted CCTV footage and circulated propaganda to conceal the truth of her injury that led to her death. Iranian authorities have cracked down on violations of the country’s strict dress code after the Jin Jiyan Azadi (Woman Life Freedom) protests rocked the establishment last year. Amini, whose death inspired the protests, was awarded Europe’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought earlier this month.
