Deteriorating Health Condition of Arzu Badri and Pressure on Family for 'Forced Confession'; Amnesty International: Government Must Be Held Accountable

The human rights organization 'Hengaw' reported on Thursday, August 25, that the health condition of Arzu Badri, a 31-year-old woman who was shot directly by government forces for not adhering to the mandatory hijab laws of the Islamic Republic, has worsened. According to Hengaw, her family is also under security pressure to repeat the government's narrative of the incident and to make a forced televised confession. Meanwhile, Amnesty International emphasized on social media platform 'X' that reports indicate that government agents of the Islamic Republic paralyzed Arzu Badri by shooting at her vehicle while enforcing the government's mandatory hijab laws, stating that this issue 'must be effectively investigated.' The organization called for accountability from the officials of the Islamic Republic and stressed that this incident highlights the necessity of abolishing mandatory hijab laws and addressing the issue of impunity for relevant officials in Iran. Reports indicate that Arzu Badri's vehicle was on a confiscation list due to her optional hijab, and she was shot at by agents while driving in Noor County, Mazandaran Province, on the first day of Mordad. Government media cited 'police suspicion' and 'failure to heed a stop command' as reasons for the shooting. Reports also indicate that the security forces of the Islamic Republic pressured Ms. Badri's family to confirm their narrative of the incident and not to speak with the media. Arzu Badri, a mother of two, lost the ability to move from the waist down due to a bullet hitting her spine. According to Hengaw, she underwent surgery once in Sari Hospital but had to undergo a second surgery at Vali Asr Hospital in Tehran due to lung swelling and is under the supervision of security forces in the hospital. Kaveh Mozaffari, a citizen who claims to work in the medical and health field, published a video explaining that the bullet's impact location indicates that the agents shot at her from the side and at close range. Many users on social media placed an image of Arzu next to a photo of Mahsa Amini on a hospital bed, urging others not to remain indifferent to the repetition of such crimes by the Islamic Republic and to react. Sima Sabat, a journalist on 'X,' wrote: 'As long as the Islamic Republic exists, the police will never be a supporter of the people; it is an evil arm of repression.' Reza Shafakhah, a lawyer, also wrote on 'X': 'Mr. Pezeshkian, the incident that occurred to Ms. Arzu Badri happened during your presidency. Do you not see the need to issue an order for investigation or to form a committee?' This is not the first time that agents of the Islamic Republic have shot directly at citizens' vehicles under the pretext of 'suspicion.' An informed source told VOA last Esfand that following a direct shot from a police officer at close range to a family's vehicle in Aligudarz, Lorestan Province, Negar Karimi, a 21-year-old citizen, was killed. Previously, police shootings at vehicles have repeatedly resulted in the deaths of several citizens, including children. In this regard, one can refer to the killing of Kian Pirfalak, a 9-year-old child, in the city of Izeh on November 25, 2022. Additionally, last Bahman, during direct shooting by plainclothes forces of the Islamic Republic in Borujerd County, one citizen was killed, and another was injured. Also, in the early days of winter 1401, a 12-year-old girl named Soha Etemadi was killed due to police shooting at a vehicle on a road in Hormozgan Province. In Esfand of the same year, a two-year-old child was killed due to shooting by special forces at a family vehicle in Isfahan. A video attributed to an 'enforcer of virtue' attacking a woman and vandalizing her vehicle under the pretext of 'mandatory hijab' has surfaced. The shooting of an Islamic Republic officer at a woman in Mazandaran for 'mandatory hijab'; reports: Arzu Badri is in a coma. Reactions to the video of violent encounters with girls due to optional clothing; police: 'It is related to the past'; a media outlet called for the dismissal of the Minister of Interior. The Instagram account of Zara Ismaili, a singer without mandatory hijab, has been blocked by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic.