Mother of Iranian teen claims her daughter beaten to death, cites forensic report

Contrary to police claims, the mother of the 16-year old Iranian girl Nika Shakarami, stated she was killed due to assaults on her head during the anti-Hijab stir roiling the country. The police position has been, the girl died after falling from a high-rise building. 

Mother Nasreen Shakarami also said, against the family’s wishes, the police buried her daughter’s body in a remote area after snatching her from the morgue, even as Nika’s death was kept as a secret for about nine days, Nasreen claimed in a video message Thursday to Radio Farda, the Persian-language arm of the U.S.-funded station Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

‘The damage was to her head’

According to the forensics report, Nika’s head was damaged, while her body was intact, said Nasreen in the video message. “The damage was to her head,” she said. “Her body was intact, arms and legs,” however Iranian police chief Gen. Hossein Ashtari claimed the teen visited a building “and fell from the upper floor at a time of gatherings.” He said that “the fall from that height led to her death.”

The authorities also arrested mother Nasreen Shakarami’s sister and brother. The sister, Atash, claimed on Iranian TV, her niece died after falling from a high rise building. However Nasreen rebutted that she was pressured by the authorities to concur with the police claims. Notably, questions have also been raised on the death of Mahasa Amini.  

Nika Shakarami, latest icon of the anti-Hijab protests in Iran     

In unprecedented scenes observed in Iran, women have thronged the streets against the practice of wearing Hijab and Nika Shakarami has become the latest icon figure in the backdrop of the widespread demonstrations. Notably, the protests sparked by the death of the 22-year old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police - will enter its fourth week, Saturday. She was taken into custody for alleged violations of the country’s strict islamic dress code. 

Young women calling for toppling the government - have taken to streets, tearing the headscarves as a mark of protest against the practice. These demonstrations have resulted in government crackdown in the form of beatings, arrests and killings of demonstrators as well as internet disruptions.

IMAGE: AP