Based on reports received by the Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM), on Monday, July 22, 2024, security forces shot a young woman named Arezoo Badri in the Mazandaran Province town of Nur for not observing compulsory hijab. She sustained serious spinal cord and lung injuries, causing her to lose her ability to walk.
According to an informed source, after approximately 10 days, doctors managed to remove the bullet from Arezoo Badri’s back. However, her lungs and spinal cord have suffered “serious injuries.” “She has no sensation from the waist down, and doctors have said that in the coming months it will be determined whether she is completely paralyzed from the waist down or not.” After about a week, Ms. Badri is transferred to Tehran to have the bullet removed from her body. She is currently hospitalized in the ICU of Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Tehran. According to specialist physicians, due to the bullet’s impact on her spinal cord canal, the likelihood of her losing the ability to walk completely is “very high.”
Arezoo Badri, a 31-year-old mother of two, was born in Ardabil and residing in Babolsar in the Mazandaran Province. Around 10 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2024, Ms. Badri was traveling from Nur to Babolsar with her friend. Arezoo Badri’s car was impounded for not observing hijab regulations. The police instructed them to stop via loudspeaker, but they, frightened and hesitant, continued on their path. Suddenly, a police officer, without prior warning, first shot at the car’s wheel and then at its door. The bullet hit Arezoo Badri’s back.
She is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Tehran under strict security measures. Security forces only allow a few minutes for family visits and beforehand record their mobile phones. No one is allowed to take photos or videos of Ms. Badri. The security forces have even confiscated Arezoo Badri and her friend’s mobile phones and deactivated her Instagram account to prevent any images of her from being published in the media.
The security situation surrounding Ms. Badri is reminiscent of the stringent security measures during the hospitalization of Armita Gravand. The 17-year-old girl, who was involved in a dispute with compulsory hijab enforcers due to not wearing the mandatory hijab, lost consciousness in Tehran’s Shahid Metro Station and tragically passed away after nearly a month.
