Disputing Iran's version, mom says teen was beaten to death
AP - DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A 16-year-old Iranian girl's mother has refuted government allegations
that her daughter died after falling from a tall building, claiming that
the adolescent was killed by blows to the head during the country's crackdown on anti-hijab protests.
Nasreen Shakarami also claimed that against the desires of the family, authorities removed her daughter Nika's body from a mortuary and buried her in a remote location after concealing her death for nine days.
The grieving mother addressed Radio Farda, the Persian-language division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in a video message on Thursday.
The most recent protest symbol is Nika Shakarami, who is seen as the greatest challenge to Iran's governing elites in recent memory.
Authorities' recent efforts to paint the teen's death as an accident may be an indication that they are worried
the incident will only serve to inflame people's resentment of the government.