Iranian security forces arrested at least 15 activists and civilians during the funeral of Armita Geravand at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran on 29 October.
The burial ceremony took place under tight security and was attended by Geravand’s family, friends, and a group of civilians, civil rights activists and families of those killed in last year’s anti-government protests.
Among those arrested are: Mohammad Geravand, a relative of Armita Geravand; Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights activist; Monireh Arab-Shahi, the mother of one of the slain protesters; and Masoud Zeynalzadeh, a labour activist.
On 28 October, Iranian state news agencies reported that Geravand had died after spending 28 days in a coma in the intensive care unit of Tehran’s Fajr Hospital.
According to various reports, Geravand had no “vital signs” from the moment she was admitted to the hospital and remained in a coma throughout her stay. In her final days in hospital, doctors had lost hope of her recovery.
The hospital where Geravand was admitted remained under tight security throughout her stay.
Security forces have continued to pressure, threaten and impose restrictions on the Geravand family. Initially, the authorities intended to bury Armita in a designated place without a public funeral.
The Geravand family have been under pressure from the security institutions since their daughter was transferred to a military hospital on 1 October, and numerous news reports have emerged that Armita was physically assaulted by government agents on the Shohada line of the Tehran metro because of her hijab.
The family was even forced to appear in television interviews to deny the news that their daughter had been assaulted by government agents.
Security forces also released edited video footage showing Geravand unconscious at the Shohada metro station, claiming that she had fainted due to a “drop in blood pressure”.
However, the British newspaper The Guardian reported on 5 October, citing two eyewitnesses, that Geravand had been subjected to a “physical assault” by a female morality police officer inside a metro carriage. According to one witness, the morality police officer “violently pushed her” after an argument.
The Guardian, citing sources opposed to the Iranian government, also stated that the time stamp on the video footage released by the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) showed that at least 100 seconds had been cut from the time of the incident.
Geravand was born on 2 April 2006 in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province. Her family are from Kuhdasht, Lorestan Province, and had lived in Tehran in recent years.
