A 16-year-old Iranian girl died after she was allegedly beaten up by security forces in her classroom. The girl was beaten up for refusing to sing an anthem praising supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with other students, reports said.
The incident took place last week in northwestern Ardabil city when the security forces were raiding Shaheed Girls High School, BBC reported. The security forces forced the girls to sing that anthem but when Asra Panahi, among others, resisted, they were beaten up.
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Asra Panahi later succumbed to her injuries in hospital, BBC reported quoting coordinating council of Iranian teachers’ trade associations.
However, the authorities have denied responsibility for Asra Panahi’s death.
Asra Panahi’s death comes at a time when Iran is witnessing anti-government protests which began over a month ago. Women in Iran have been protesting against the regime following the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Ameni. Mahsa Amini was arrested by Iran’s infamous morality police for not wearing hijab.
Videos widely shared on social media show huge protests by women in Iran. In many of the videos, women can be seen confronting male officials with slogans like “Woman, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator” – a reference to the supreme leader.
