Human Rights Watch (HRW) has demanded an independent investigation, including by UN fact-finders, into the death last month of 17-year-old Iranian high-school student Armita Garavand after her run-in with morality police "under suspicious circumstances."
Garavand was pronounced dead over the weekend after slipping into a coma following an alleged confrontation a month ago with Tehran's enforcers of strict dress-code laws.
It was the second high-profile death of a young woman reportedly involving the morality police in 13 months.
"An independent investigation, including by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, is essential to shed light on Armita Garawand’s death," HRW said in a November 2 statement. "Concerned governments should press Iranian authorities to allow for independent investigators, human rights defenders, and journalists to speak to witnesses of abuses directly without fear of reprisals."
Authorities harassed and detained dozens of people during Garavand's burial on October 29, and a relative told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her family was pressured by security officials to change the date of a commemoration ceremony to avoid attracting a crowd.
The family was "deeply distressed," the relative said.
Rights groups and journalists say Garavand and two of her friends were confronted on October 1 by officers for not wearing the mandatory hijab, or Islamic head scarf, as they tried to enter a Tehran subway station.
A source at Fajr Hospital, who spoke to Radio Farda on condition of anonymity while Garavand was still alive, said shortly after the incident that the student suffered internal bleeding in the brain.
One of the friends has said the officers physically assaulted Garavand, who later fell unconscious after entering a subway carriage. Officials have said Garavand suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure, fainted, and fell to the floor, hitting her head.
"Iranian authorities have repeatedly made false claims to cover up serious abuses," HRW said, noting the case last year of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death after her detention and alleged brutality at the hands of morality police, sparking massive protests.
"For decades, Iranian authorities’ violent enforcement of compulsory hijab laws has harmed women and girls," HRW added.
Many Iranians have kept up pressure on the country's hard-line religious leadership despite a massive crackdown on women's rights and anti-regime protests following Amini's death.