A 16-year-old Iranian girl is in a coma after she was assaulted on a Tehran subway, reportedly by the morality police for not complying with national rules on the hijab. According to rights groups and activists, the girl was severely assaulted. The incident puts the country on edge as it has taken place a year after mass protests broke out following the death of a Mahsa Amini, who died while in custody of the morality police. The 22-year-old too, had reportedly flouted the strict hijab law.

Footage of the incident shows the girl being carried out of the train by other girls. A report by the state-run media said that the girl fainted after a drop in blood pressure, leading her to hit the side of the train carriage. The video doesn’t show if the girl was wearing any kind of head covering.

In an interview with government-run news agency Fars, the father of the girl says, “We have checked all the videos and it has been proven for us that this incident was an accident. We request people to pray for our child’s recovery.” 

Authorities have in the past published forced interviews with family members. At the time of Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022, authorities had said that she had a neurological disorder that caused her to collapse inside a police station. Amini’s family said that they were denied the right to choose the doctor to conduct a postmortem examination. Amini’s death sparked several months of protests.

16-year-old Armita Garawand is being treated under tight security at Tehran’s Fajr Hospital.