The Complaint Case of 'Nafas' Against 'Noor Plan' Officers Remains Stalled; Security Police Refuses to Provide Patrol Videos

Maryam Abbasi, the mother of 14-year-old Nafas Hajisharif, who was violently arrested by the Guidance Patrol in July 2023, stated that their complaint against the officers has been marked as 'incompetent' and has been removed from the military prosecutor's office, leaving them unaware of which court the case has been referred to. In an interview with Etemad newspaper, Maryam Abbasi mentioned that after two and a half months, not a single court session has been held. However, one of the female officers who arrested Nafas later claimed to have injured her finger, and an immediate court session was arranged for her. She emphasized that despite their complaint making no progress, those who assaulted her daughter had their court session without any evidence. Abbasi described how Nafas and her friend went shopping at a commercial center on Vatanpour Street in Tehran on the day of the incident. 'I was waiting in a nearby café when I noticed the children's phones had turned off. After a call from the officers, I learned that my daughter had been arrested by the Guidance Patrol and was asked to go to the Gisha Security Police Center.' Abbasi added that upon arriving at the police station, she was met with vulgar insults, being told that she had abandoned her daughter on the street. She expressed her concern for her child while facing continuous humiliation. Regarding Nafas's condition in detention, she stated, 'I was confronted with a shocking scene. My daughter's face was injured and bloody, her neck was bruised, and her body had scratch marks. Her clothes were torn, and she was sitting weakly in front of a group of men without a headscarf.' Nafas's mother asserted that the officers had violently transferred her daughter to the Guidance Patrol van and then moved her to another vehicle to prevent evidence from being recorded. According to her, the officers claimed that Nafas and her friend had been verbally abusive before their arrest and had fled from another area, but evidence and footage from the commercial center refute this claim. Maryam Abbasi explained that despite a judicial request for the van's camera footage, the security police have yet to respond to this order. Even the video recorded by one of the police officers with a handycam has not been provided. She also mentioned that during the transfer, Nafas was taken out of the first van and moved to the second, a fact confirmed by a witness who was present in both vans and provided testimony to Nafas's family. Maryam Abbasi discussed her daughter's mental and educational condition, stating that 'Nafas has developed severe anxiety and fear since this incident, to the point where she cannot even leave the house or visit a therapist.' She added, 'Nafas was previously an outstanding student, a talented artist, and a medal-winning athlete; now she has fallen academically and is extremely afraid of the police and security agencies. Every morning, she checks the cameras of their residential building to ensure no officers are waiting at their door.' Previously, Asghar Jahangir, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stated in a press conference that the forensic results regarding the signs of 'beating' on the complainant are under review, adding that a total of eight people have been summoned in this case, necessary interrogations have been conducted, and the case is in the investigation completion stage. Maryam Abbasi has filed complaints against the team of officers who violently arrested her daughter Nafas and her friend on that day to five judicial and security authorities, including the military prosecutor's office, NAJA inspection, FARAJA information protection, FARAJA inspection, and NAJA general inspection. Previously, Ahmadreza Radan, the commander of FARAJA, did not consider the behavior of the officers in the arrest of the two 14-year-old girls to be wrong, stating only that 'the behavior of those girls was bad, and the police's behavior was somewhat unprofessional.' This incident occurred while Massoud Pezeshkian, the President of the 14th government, during the competition with five other candidates selected by the Guardian Council for succeeding Raisi, stated: 'I guarantee that the entire government will stand firm against mandatory patrols, filtering, and external pressures in all meetings and fully.' These claims by Pezeshkian come at a time when several weeks after the release of this video, there has been no reaction to this issue, and those close to him have not made any specific statements. Radan: The Noor Plan is the law, and Pezeshkian is very interested in enforcing the law. The Attorney General of the Islamic Republic labeled civil disobedience of popular figures as a 'manifest crime.' The mother of Nafas Hajisharif stated that they have filed complaints against the officers of the 'Noor Plan' in five 'judicial and security' authorities, but still without results. Radan announced the continuation of the 'Noor Plan' in Pezeshkian's government. The commander of the Iranian police did not consider the treatment of the two 14-year-old girls to be wrong.