Asra Panahi, 16, was allegedly beaten to death by Iranian security forces.
A 16-year-old Iranian schoolgirl has died after she was beaten for refusing to sing a pro-regime song in school, setting off a wave of new protests against the Islamic Republic, according to multiple reports.
Iranian schoolgirl reportedly beaten to death for refusing to sing in honour of Ayatollah.
Asra Panahi was in school last week when security forces allegedly entered the Shahed girls high school in Ardabil and demanded the students sing in praise of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Al Khamenei, The Guardian in London reported, citing the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations.
When the girls refused, the security forces struck them, sending Panahi and several others to hospital, The Guardian said. Panahi died the next day, several reports said.
“Schoolgirl Asra Panahi died on Wednesday after being beaten by security forces in Iran. A high school in Ardabil, city, forced students to join a pro regime rally. Students refused and instead they chanted: ‘Women Life Freedom.’ That’s why they got beaten up,” said Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist, in a tweet on Sunday.
Iran is said to have denied that its security forces were responsible. A man identified as her uncle appeared on state TV to say Panahi had died from a congenital heart condition, according to The Guardian.
Iran’s teachers’ union decried the raids on schools, which were part of a crackdown after videos of students waving their hijabs in the air and removing photos of Iran’s leaders went viral on the internet. There were reports of Iranian authorities arresting schoolgirls and firing teargas in schools.
An estimated 23 children have been killed in protests spreading across Iran in response to the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested by the morality police for wearing her hijab incorrectly, according to a UN Rights spokeswoman on Tuesday, urging Iranian authorities to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.
Meanwhile fears grow for the fate of an Iranian competitive climber who left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned Elnaz Rekabi may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could face arrest back home, which Tehran quickly denied.
A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional,” though it wasn’t immediately clear whether she wrote the post or what condition she was in at the time. The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights group describe as coerced confessions on state television.
Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea said. The BBC’s Persian service, which has extensive contacts within Iran despite being banned from operating there, quoted an unnamed “informed source” who described Iranian officials as seizing both Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport.
BBC Persian also said she initially had been scheduled to return on Wednesday, but her flight apparently had been moved up unexpectedly.
IranWire, another website focusing on the country founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who once was detained by Iran, alleged that Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after arriving in the country. Evin Prison was the site of a massive fire this weekend that killed at least eight prisoners.
In a tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied “all the fake, false news and disinformation” regarding Rekabi’s departure on Tuesday. But instead of posting a photo of her from the Seoul competition, it posted an image of her wearing a headscarf at a previous competition in Moscow, where she took a bronze medal.
Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul rang unanswered Tuesday. Rekabi didn’t put on a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship, according to the Seoul-based Korea Alpine Federation, the organizers of the event.
Federation officials said Rekabi wore a hijab during her initial appearances at the one-week climbing event. She wore just a black headband when competing Sunday, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail; she had a white jersey with Iran’s flag as a logo on it.
The later Instagram post, written in the first person, offered an apology on Rekabi’s behalf. The post blamed a sudden call for her to climb the wall in the competition — although footage of the competition showed Rekabi relaxed as she approached and after she competed. It also sought to describe her travel back to Iran on Tuesday as being “on schedule.”
Rekabi, 33, was on Iran’s 11-member delegation, comprised of eight athletes and three coaches, according to the federation.
Federation officials said they were not initially aware of Rekabi competing without the hijab but looked into the case after receiving inquiries. They said the event doesn’t have any rules on requiring female athletes wearing or not wearing headscarves. However, Iranian women competing abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.
“Our understanding is that she is returning to Iran, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops on her arrival,” the International Federation of Sport Climbing, which oversaw the event, said. “It is important to stress that athletes’ safety is paramount for us and we support any efforts to keep a valued member of our community safe in this situation.”
The federation said it had been in touch with both Rekabi and Iranian officials, but declined to elaborate on the substance of those calls when reached by The Associated Press. The federation also declined to discuss the Instagram post attributed to Rekabi and the claims in it.
Later Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged that the Iranian athlete and her team had left the country, without elaborating.
So far, human rights groups estimate that over 200 people have been killed in the protests and the violent security force crackdown that followed. Iran has not offered a death toll in weeks.
Thousands are believed to have been arrested.
Gathering information about the demonstrations remains difficult, however. Internet access has been disrupted for weeks by the Iranian government. Meanwhile, authorities have detained at least 40 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader, has repeatedly alleged the country’s foreign enemies are behind the ongoing demonstrations, rather than Iranians angered by Amini’s death and the country’s other woes.
Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate; the country’s currency, the rial, plummeted and Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers has been reduced to tatters.
Iranian schoolgirl reportedly beaten to death for refusing to sing in honour of Ayatollah | National Post
A 16-year-old Iranian schoolgirl has died after she was beaten for refusing to sing a pro-regime song in school, setting off a wave of new protests against the Islamic Republic, according to multiple reports.
Iranian schoolgirl reportedly beaten to death for refusing to sing in honour of Ayatollah.
Asra Panahi was in school last week when security forces allegedly entered the Shahed girls high school in Ardabil and demanded the students sing in praise of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Al Khamenei, The Guardian in London reported, citing the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations.
When the girls refused, the security forces struck them, sending Panahi and several others to hospital, The Guardian said. Panahi died the next day, several reports said.
“Schoolgirl Asra Panahi died on Wednesday after being beaten by security forces in Iran. A high school in Ardabil, city, forced students to join a pro regime rally. Students refused and instead they chanted: ‘Women Life Freedom.’ That’s why they got beaten up,” said Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist, in a tweet on Sunday.
Iran is said to have denied that its security forces were responsible. A man identified as her uncle appeared on state TV to say Panahi had died from a congenital heart condition, according to The Guardian.
Iran’s teachers’ union decried the raids on schools, which were part of a crackdown after videos of students waving their hijabs in the air and removing photos of Iran’s leaders went viral on the internet. There were reports of Iranian authorities arresting schoolgirls and firing teargas in schools.
An estimated 23 children have been killed in protests spreading across Iran in response to the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested by the morality police for wearing her hijab incorrectly, according to a UN Rights spokeswoman on Tuesday, urging Iranian authorities to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.
Meanwhile fears grow for the fate of an Iranian competitive climber who left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned Elnaz Rekabi may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could face arrest back home, which Tehran quickly denied.
A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional,” though it wasn’t immediately clear whether she wrote the post or what condition she was in at the time. The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights group describe as coerced confessions on state television.
Rekabi left Seoul on a Tuesday morning flight, the Iranian Embassy in South Korea said. The BBC’s Persian service, which has extensive contacts within Iran despite being banned from operating there, quoted an unnamed “informed source” who described Iranian officials as seizing both Rekabi’s mobile phone and passport.
BBC Persian also said she initially had been scheduled to return on Wednesday, but her flight apparently had been moved up unexpectedly.
IranWire, another website focusing on the country founded by Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who once was detained by Iran, alleged that Rekabi would be immediately transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison after arriving in the country. Evin Prison was the site of a massive fire this weekend that killed at least eight prisoners.
In a tweet, the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied “all the fake, false news and disinformation” regarding Rekabi’s departure on Tuesday. But instead of posting a photo of her from the Seoul competition, it posted an image of her wearing a headscarf at a previous competition in Moscow, where she took a bronze medal.
Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul rang unanswered Tuesday. Rekabi didn’t put on a hijab during Sunday’s final at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asia Championship, according to the Seoul-based Korea Alpine Federation, the organizers of the event.
Federation officials said Rekabi wore a hijab during her initial appearances at the one-week climbing event. She wore just a black headband when competing Sunday, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail; she had a white jersey with Iran’s flag as a logo on it.
The later Instagram post, written in the first person, offered an apology on Rekabi’s behalf. The post blamed a sudden call for her to climb the wall in the competition — although footage of the competition showed Rekabi relaxed as she approached and after she competed. It also sought to describe her travel back to Iran on Tuesday as being “on schedule.”
Rekabi, 33, was on Iran’s 11-member delegation, comprised of eight athletes and three coaches, according to the federation.
Federation officials said they were not initially aware of Rekabi competing without the hijab but looked into the case after receiving inquiries. They said the event doesn’t have any rules on requiring female athletes wearing or not wearing headscarves. However, Iranian women competing abroad under the Iranian flag always wear the hijab.
“Our understanding is that she is returning to Iran, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it develops on her arrival,” the International Federation of Sport Climbing, which oversaw the event, said. “It is important to stress that athletes’ safety is paramount for us and we support any efforts to keep a valued member of our community safe in this situation.”
The federation said it had been in touch with both Rekabi and Iranian officials, but declined to elaborate on the substance of those calls when reached by The Associated Press. The federation also declined to discuss the Instagram post attributed to Rekabi and the claims in it.
Later Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged that the Iranian athlete and her team had left the country, without elaborating.
So far, human rights groups estimate that over 200 people have been killed in the protests and the violent security force crackdown that followed. Iran has not offered a death toll in weeks.
Thousands are believed to have been arrested.
Gathering information about the demonstrations remains difficult, however. Internet access has been disrupted for weeks by the Iranian government. Meanwhile, authorities have detained at least 40 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader, has repeatedly alleged the country’s foreign enemies are behind the ongoing demonstrations, rather than Iranians angered by Amini’s death and the country’s other woes.
Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate; the country’s currency, the rial, plummeted and Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers has been reduced to tatters.
Iranian schoolgirl reportedly beaten to death for refusing to sing in honour of Ayatollah | National Post
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