Montreal vigil for Iranian teen who died after mysterious head injury on metro

Community groups and members of Montreal’s Iranian community gathered downtown Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to an Iranian teenager who died weeks after a mysterious incident on Tehran’s metro.

Montrealers lit candles at Phillips Square for Armita Geravand, who had been in a coma since the Oct. 1 injury that has left many demanding answers.

Participants say they took part to raise their voices for justice and freedom for Iranian women.

Iranian state television says the 17-year-old Geravand suffered a fall and brain injury after a sudden drop in blood pressure seconds after entering the metro train.

A friend told the state TV Geravand hit her head on the station’s platform. Geravand’s parents appeared in state media footage saying a blood pressure issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughter’s injury.

Iranian state TV’s report, however, did not include any footage from inside the train itself and offered no explanation on why it hadn’t been released. Most train cars on the Tehran Metro have multiple CCTV cameras, which are viewable by security personnel.

Activists abroad have alleged Geravand may have been pushed or attacked for not wearing the hijab.

Many are calling for an independent international investigation.

Geravand’s death — and the uncertainty surrounding it — threatens to reignite popular anger in Iran brewing in the year since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests at the time.

Women in Tehran and elsewhere are defying Iran’s mandatory hijab law as a sign of their discontent with Iran’s theocracy.

–With files from The Associated Press