Hengaw Human Rights Organization: Armita Garavand Remains in Coma

Despite rumors of Armita Garavand being brain dead, the Hengaw Human Rights Organization announced early Thursday, October 12, 2023, that it has obtained information indicating that this teenage girl remains in a coma at Fajr Hospital. On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 11, some news sources claimed that the medical team treating Armita Garavand informed the security forces stationed at Fajr Hospital that Armita no longer showed any vital signs and was definitively brain dead. The Borna news agency, affiliated with the Ministry of Sports and Youth of the Islamic Republic, reported on Wednesday, October 11, based on its journalist's follow-ups, that Armita Garavand's relatively stable vital signs had changed and worsened over the past few days. This state-run media outlet also wrote that the 'efforts of the medical team for improvement' of this 16-year-old student 'are still ongoing.' Evidence and some reports indicate that Armita Garavand, a 16-year-old girl, was attacked by a morality police officer at the Shahid Square metro station in Tehran on Sunday morning, October 1, 2023, for not wearing her hijab properly, and after being pushed, her head struck the edge of the train door, leading to her loss of consciousness and subsequent coma. In recent days, state media have denied the involvement of the Tehran municipality's hijab enforcers in the incident, attempting to suggest that this teenage girl fell unconscious due to a natural incident. During Armita's hospitalization, the security situation at Fajr Hospital was reported to be extremely tense. Independent journalists were prevented from reporting on her condition, and it was said that her family was under severe pressure from security agencies. Concerns have been expressed by U.S. officials regarding Armita Garavand's physical condition; security pressures on her family and relatives continue.