Armita Garawand was attacked on Sunday by female police officers, according to the Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw.

Iran: Western governments conveyed their apprehension following reports of an alleged assault by Iranian security forces that left a teenager in a coma. Germany’s senior diplomat strongly criticised the incident, terming it as “unacceptable.” Following the incident, the rights group also demanded an international investigation into the confrontation incident on the Tehran metro. Notably, the incident took place just over a year after the death in the custody of Mahsa Amini, the woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women.

According to the Kurdish-focused rights organization Hengaw, 16-year-old Armita Garawand was assaulted by female police officers on Sunday.

However, Iranian authorities have denied any involvement of security forces, claiming that she “fainted” due to low blood pressure.

Iranian authorities are vigilant for any potential increase in social tension around the anniversary of Amini’s death on September 16. Last year, this event led to months of unrest that shook Iran’s clerical leadership. The subsequent crackdown, according to activists, resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.

“A young woman in Iran is fighting for her life again. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. It’s intolerable,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Acting US special envoy on Iran Abram Paley shared on X that Washington was “shocked and concerned about reports that Iran’s so-called morality police have assaulted” the teenager.

“We are following news of her condition. We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses,” Paley added.

The purported video of the incident has gone viral on the internet and has become the subject of intense discussionvi.

‘Repression’

The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights has called for an “independent international investigation to uncover the full details” of the incident. They accuse Tehran of having “a long history of distorting facts and concealing evidence related to their crimes.”

“The Islamic republic continues its harassment and repression of women under the guise of fighting mandatory hijab violations,” said group’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Hengaw stated that Garawand was being treated under tight security at Tehran’s Fajr hospital.

The organization published a photograph it claimed to be of Garawand, showing her in a hospital bed with a feeding tube and extensive bandaging around her head and neck. Hengaw alleged that her parents were interviewed by Iranian state media at the hospital “under significant duress” and “in the presence of senior security officials.”

According to Baerbock, “the family should not have to be in front of cameras, but have the right to be at their daughter’s bedside”.

Notably, Garawand, a resident of Tehran, hails from the city of Kermanshah in Kurdish-populated west.

Journalist Maryam Lotfi, from Shargh Daily Newspaper, Detained After Seeking Hospital Visit Following the Incident, Then Released.