london/The 16-year-old Iranian girl, Nika Shakarami, who died in 2022 after participating in an anti-government protest, was sexually assaulted and killed by three men linked to Iranian security forces, according to a document seen by the BBC.
The British Public Broadcasting Corporation revealed on Tuesday that it had obtained a report marked “top secret” supposedly prepared by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which summarizes the young woman’s case and identifies her three alleged killers as well as the commander who covered her. higher.
The BBC says that, after months of verification, it was able to draw some conclusions about what happened to the teenager, whose death in September 2022 was described by the Tehran government as a suicide.
The station notes that the leaked document contains “disturbing details of what happened in the back of an unmarked truck where security forces handcuffed Nika.”
According to this, “one of the men assaulted her while he was sitting on her,” after which the girl resisted “despite being handcuffed and restrained, by kicking and cursing.” This led to the three men tasing her and beating her with batons.
“One of the men assaulted her while sitting on top,” and afterward, “although she was handcuffed and bound, she resisted, kicked and cursed.”
On the day of the event, the internal report reflects that the so-called “Team 12” of the security forces considered her suspicious during a protest on September 20 of that year demanding women’s freedoms, and they tried to arrest her, but she fled. .
An hour later, they found her and put her in an unmarked refrigerated truck, with the group's leader, Morteza Jalil, in the cabin and the agents Arash Kalhor, Sadiq Manjazi, and Behrouz Sadeghi inside.
According to the text, they first tried to leave the young woman, who did not stop screaming and defending herself, in one of the detention centers, but it was full. Khalil finally asked the IRGC headquarters for instructions, which ordered her transfer to Evin Prison.
According to the document, one officer put his socks in her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and another sat on her and touched her genitals, which she resisted and was then beaten repeatedly.
Jalil heard a lot of noise, asked the driver to stop the truck, and when he opened the back door, he found the young woman dead, as he testified in this report.
Then he called the headquarters again and the commander, nicknamed “Naim 16,” asked him to leave the bodies in the street, because the bodies had already accumulated in the detention centers.
An expert consulted by the BBC identified “Naeem 16” as Captain Muhammad Zamani.
The station indicates that the captain received a written reprimand, but instead believes that the members of “Team 12” cannot be punished, because they do not belong directly to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, but rather to the paramilitary group Hezbollah (different from Lebanon), which operates in many areas. Sometimes. For the benefit of Iranian intelligence.
Nika Shakarami's death caused panic in Iran and abroad, and her image became a symbol of Iranian women's struggle for greater personal freedoms, including dress.
The feminist demonstrations came in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini (22 years old) on September 16, 2022, as a result of injuries she sustained while in police custody for not wearing the hijab properly.
Ethan Walker writes for News Collective, covering news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on clear, reliable reporting and useful information, helping readers stay informed about current events, emerging trends, and stories that matter.