Chris Lange, FISM News
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A sixteen-year-old Iranian girl died after she was viciously beaten by security forces, fueling outrage throughout Iran as protests against the regime continue for a fifth consecutive week.
Asra Panahi, 16, was pronounced dead by hospital workers hours after guards raided the Shahed girls’ school she attended and demanded that pupils sing an anthem honoring supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations.
According to a Daily Mail report, the teacher’s union said Panahi was savagely beaten after she refused to sing, adding that 10 of her classmates were also hospitalized and seven others sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials predictably denied the report while news agencies with close ties to the Revolutionary Guards said Panahi’s death was caused by a heart condition. Her uncle later appeared on state TV saying that his niece suffered from a congenital heart condition, prompting allegations that the statement was given under duress.
Iran’s largest teacher’s union issued a statement condemning the ‘brutal and inhumane’ raids the Revolutionary Guard is allegedly carrying out in several schools as officers ruthlessly crack down on dissenters. The union said police have been entering classrooms, firing tear gas on pupils, and arresting children, and is demanding the immediate resignation of education minister Yousef Nouri.
Young Iranian women have become the face of resistance in Iran, offering the world a rare glimpse into the shocking brutality of the ruling government. Schoolgirls, in particular, have emerged as one of the most vocal forces of opposition. At great personal risk, many young women have posted videos on social media of themselves throwing off their hijabs and cutting their hair, with some going so far as to give the supreme leader the middle finger.
In this viral video, a group of schoolgirls, veiled and unveiled, join hands to sing together an Iranian version of the Italian protest folk song "Bella Ciao". pic.twitter.com/peWgQSgaV3
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 19, 2022
One of them, 16-year-old YouTuber Sarina Esmailzadeh, was allegedly beaten to death at a protest in Karaj on Sept. 21. Authorities claimed that she committed suicide by jumping off a neighbor’s roof. The claim was almost identical to another given by police following the death of Nika Shakarami, whom activists said was beaten to death by security forces. Officers said her death was caused by a fall.
Iranian rock climber arrested at airport following bizarre apology
Meanwhile, Iranian rocker climber Elnaz Rekabi, 33, who on Sunday defiantly competed at an event in South Korea without wearing a hijab, has reportedly been sent to the notorious Evin prison after posting a suspicious apology on her Instagram account.
Rebahki said in the video that her hijab fell by mistake and that she was returning home. Police were reportedly waiting for her at the airport, where she was taken into custody, the Daily Mail reported. Her brother, who also competed in Seoul, was also detained.
Anti-regime protests erupted last month following the death of a young woman who was detained by morality police for wearing her hijab incorrectly. During her confinement, Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma and subsequently died. Her father publicly rejected police claims that she had succumbed to an illness, saying her body was severely bruised. The incident sparked demonstrations in Tehran and the Kurdistan province where Amini lived, which quickly grew into a full-scale movement against the Iranian government.
Human rights groups have estimated that at least 200 demonstrators have been killed so far, while thousands are believed to have been arrested.
Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claim that foreign enemies are behind the demonstrations.