Iran. One of the dead students was beaten by the security services

The accident occurred in the city of Ardabil, northwest of Iran. The teachers’ union reported that Asra Panahi was one of the students who were injured as a result of the service’s intervention. Security forces were due to enter the school after the teenagers refused to sing a song of praise in honor of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

According to educators, seven students were injured and ten were arrested as a result of the services. Panahi later died in hospital. Her death sparked protests from the people of Ardabil. Recordings posted on social media showed a crowd chanting “freedom” and security forces clashed with protesters.

Officials denied reports from the teachers’ union, and state media reported that the girl had a heart problem.

School girls have joined the nationwide protests that have swept Iran since mid-September. And they erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was arrested by the morality police. After being arrested for “wearing an inappropriate head covering,” the woman mysteriously fell into a coma and died in hospital. According to Amini’s family, she was beaten by the officers.

Political scientists estimate that these demonstrations are the most serious challenge facing the regime since the wave of protests and riots that swept the country in 2009. According to recent IHRNGO figures, 201 people have died in the protests so far, including 23 children.