ALBAWABA - In documents leaked to BBC, it was revealed that 16-year-old Nika Shakarami was "sexually assaulted and killed by three men working for Iran's security forces" in light of the 2022 nationwide protests.
Shakarami's body was found nine days after she "vanished" while she was taking part in the demonstrations that took over the country following the killing of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Morality Police for not "wearing hijab correctly".
The BBC reported that the leaked document included a summary of a hearing session on Shakarami's case held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The officials in question mentioned the names of the officers who killed her and the commanders who tried to cover it up.
Iran's judiciary stated on Wednesday that the BBC story was "a fake, incorrect, and full of mistakes report," but did not address any of the alleged errors. "The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal case against these people," a spokesman said, with charges including "spreading lies" and "propaganda against the system".
In Nika's case, her family discovered her body in a mortuary more than a week after she vanished while protesting. However, Iran's authorities disputed that Nika's death was related to the demonstration and, after conducting their own investigation, concluded that she committed herself.
Nika was last seen on the evening of September 20 near Laleh Park in central Tehran, standing on a dumpster and setting fire to hijabs.
According to the Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, the BBC article was intended to "divert attention" from student protests at American universities over the Israel-Hamas war. "The enemy and their media have resorted to false and far-fetched reports to conduct psychological operations," he told reporters.
Mahsa Amini's Death
Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the country's morality police for "not wearing the hijab properly" on Sept. 16, 2022, in Tehran. Amini spent 3 days in the hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead after countless attempts to save her life.
Amini came to the hospital with visible signs of torture which caused her severe damage that left her body almost paralyzed. Thousands of Iranians, mostly women, took to the streets to protest what they consider police oppression and brutality against women, compulsory hijab, and their rights in Iran.
The killing of Amini at the hands of the morality police has triggered violent protests in Tehran and many cities in the Islamic Republic as activists and women's rights advocates burnt hijabs and cut their hair in protest of compulsory hijab rule in Iran.
Women all across the country took it upon themselves to defend their rights and to fight for justice for Amini.
According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report, Iranian authorities have imprisoned at least 75 journalists since widespread anti-government protests swept across the country in the days following Amini's death. Seventeen people, including Ms. Hamedi and Ms. Mohammadi, remain imprisoned.
