The death of a 16-year-old girl during Iran’s ongoing anti-government protests — and the apparent attempt by authorities to cover it up — has given demonstrators another rallying cry. Nika Shakarami disappeared in Tehran on Sept. 20 after burning her headscarf in protest and being followed by security forces, her family told BBC Persian, citing the account of a friend who was with her at the time. The government then refused to disclose her whereabouts, stole her body for a secret burial and pressured relatives to make false statements about how she died, the family alleges. Her story is eerily similar to that of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death on Sept. 16 in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” provided the first spark for the largest demonstrations Iran has seen in several years. Authorities said Amini had a heart attack after being arrested for an alleged violation of Iran’s strict dress code, releasing edited footage as evidence. But her family believes she was abused, and at her funeral, mourners yelled, “Death to the dictator” — a taboo reference to Iran’s supreme leader — before being attacked by police. The protests now sweeping the country are a formidable challenge to Iran’s clerical leadership, reflecting decades of pent-up fury over poverty, repression, gender segregation and human rights violations. Iran’s leaders blamed the West for the popular uprising and have launched a violent crackdown, cutting internet access and killing at least 80 people, according to rights groups. Authorities have also threatened the families of those arrested and killed, seeking to intimidate them into silence. Despite the danger, Shakarami’s aunt, Atash Shakarami, shared news of the teen’s disappearance on social media. Soon, her story began to circulate online and gain attention in Iran. A video of Shakarami wearing black baggy pants and a black T-shirt, her jet-black hair cut short, while singing a Persian love song went viral. For days, Iranian authorities did not publicly comment on the case, but the family says they were privately pressured to keep quiet.
via washington post: Death of 16-year-old protester adds new fuel to Iran uprising