Iranian teenager 'sexually assaulted' before she was killed over anti-hijab protest

An Iranian teenager who became a symbol for anti-hijab protests was "sexually assaulted" and then "beaten to death" by men working for the country's security forces, according to a BBC investigation citing secret documents.

Nika Shakarami, who was 16 when she vanished during an anti-government demonstration in September 2022, was filmed burning a hijab in front of a crowd protesting the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody a month earlier.

Shakarami's body was found 10 days later by her family at a detention centre morgue.

Iranian authorities initially alleged that she had killed herself, and later that she had died falling from a building - both explanations rejected by her family.

The BBC investigation revealed that she was reportedly abducted and molested by three men working for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), citing a leaked summary of a court hearing held after her death marked as "highly confidential".

When Shakarami reportedly fought back, she was beaten to death by her abductors, according to their admission in the document.

The New Arab could not independently verify the document.

Iranian officials have not yet commented on the report but the judiciary on Wednesday brought charges against "a number of journalists and media activists" following the publication of the BBC report, according to the judiciary-run Mizan News Agency.

فرزندانم!

امروز گزارشِ قتلِ دختر جوانم #نیکا_شاکرمی را دیدم‌.اشک چشمانم خشک نمی شود و جگرم شرحه شرحه شده است.انگار یکبار دیگر ستّار و محمدّم را جلو چشمانم کشتند! دستانِ این رژیم به خون نیکا و سایر فرزندانم آلوده است.صدای فریادهای #مادران_خاوران ، #مادران_پارک_لاله pic.twitter.com/xdWBPKrQ8i

— Gohareshghi گوهرعشقی (@gohareshghi) April 30, 2024

Mizan described the BBC investigation as "fake, inaccurate, and full of errors", stating that the Prosecutor's Office in Tehran initiated a criminal case and summoned the journalists for publishing "false and insulting content and propaganda against the establishment".

Many took to social media to react with anger against the move, with some accusing authorities of "double standards" over its criticism of a crackdown on pro-Palestine student protests in the US.

Others held Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for security officers' treatment of Shakarami.

Gohar Eshqi, the outspoken mother of political prisoner Sattar Beheshti who died in custody in 2012, said on X that "the regime has the blood of Nika and other children on its hands".