The death of Iranian teenager Nika Shakarami days before her 17th birthday in the course of countrywide anti-government protests has provoked reactions worldwide.
What happened to Nika?
Thread 🧵:
#MahsaKarami
#مهسا_امینی
What happened to Nika?
Thread 🧵:
#MahsaKarami
#مهسا_امینی
Nika disappeared after midnight on September 20, after participating in protests on Keshavarz Blvd. in Tehran. In her last phone contacts with friends and family, she was fleeing from security agents:
https://twitter.com/bbcpersian/status/1575870715512950784
Her aunt reported she had not taken personal belongings like clothes with her. A friend saw her burning her hijab and chanting slogans in a protest in a video posted to Instagram.
That night, Nika’s phone went silent. Both Nika’s Telegram and Instagram accounts were also deleted, according to her aunt.
Her phone would never be returned to her family.
Her phone would never be returned to her family.
For days, Nika’s family combed prisons and police offices to find her.
Nika’s aunt also says unofficial sources from within the IRGC contacted her and told her Nika had been in IRGC custody, where she was interrogated before being sent to Evin.
Nika’s aunt also says unofficial sources from within the IRGC contacted her and told her Nika had been in IRGC custody, where she was interrogated before being sent to Evin.
Officials at Evin, as at other prisons, denied holding her.
On the night of 9/29, while completing a missing persons report, police told Nika’s mother and uncle a body matching her description was being held at Kahrizak.
On the night of 9/29, while completing a missing persons report, police told Nika’s mother and uncle a body matching her description was being held at Kahrizak.
At Kahrizak, staff told family they would have to come back the next day to identify her. When they did, they were only shown her face. Authorities acted in a very securitized manner, according to Nika’s aunt.
On 10/1, Nika’s body was given to her family.
Family had intended to bury her at Salehin Cemetery in Khorramabad on 10/3. But security forces denied this request, and secretly buried Nika in a cemetery in the Veysian area of Lorestan Province.
Family had intended to bury her at Salehin Cemetery in Khorramabad on 10/3. But security forces denied this request, and secretly buried Nika in a cemetery in the Veysian area of Lorestan Province.
Mourners who had gathered in Khorramabad were wounded by pellet ammunition fired by police and basiji forces.
Nika’s aunt - who had conducted interviews with foreign media about the case - was arrested.
Nika’s aunt - who had conducted interviews with foreign media about the case - was arrested.
https://twitter.com/bbcpersian/status/1577133674172100609
A source close to the family told BBC on 10/4 family members (including Nika’s also-arrested uncle) were being pressured into denying Nika had gone to protest, including with threats of death.
https://twitter.com/bbcpersian/status/1577338558280507394
On October 5, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s “20:30” program ran a segment on Nika’s death.
@FSeifikaran raises a number of flaws and inconsistencies in the narrative and evidence presented.
@FSeifikaran raises a number of flaws and inconsistencies in the narrative and evidence presented.
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778866852188160?t=lCeZB8DJq2wC7Tw0UF2Rrw&s=08
The report featured confessions from Nika’s aunt and uncle, who had both been in custody. They both appear distraught. At one point, a voice offscreen seems to command the uncle to say something.
20:30 gave the reason for Nika’s death as “a fall from a height” from a building, as had authorities who had spoken with the family at Kahrizak.
But Nika’s mother described the cause of death as “multiple blows to the head with a hard object.”
A letter from Behesht Zahra Cemetery circulated by journalists confirms this:
A letter from Behesht Zahra Cemetery circulated by journalists confirms this:
https://twitter.com/BBCParham/status/1577658758133649409
Seifikaran was able to corroborate the location of the building, its roof, and the yard area into which 20:30 claims Nika had fallen.
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778895406899222
The 20:30 reporter show what they call “pictures” of Nika’s body and backpack. But they are apparently video files, with a “play” icon visible. These videos, which could provide more information, are not played.
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778866852188160?t=lCeZB8DJq2wC7Tw0UF2Rrw&s=08
One of the images shows Nika’s backpack neatly set upon a steel beam in a framework - it is not clear how it was positioned here, given the lack of a place to stand and maneuver:
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778866852188160?t=lCeZB8DJq2wC7Tw0UF2Rrw&s=08
Nika’s aunt said at Kahrizak the family had been shown pictures of the body, in an area resembling a corridor, with a phone and water bottle next to it. This description differs from the 20:30 images.
An image of Nika’s body was taken by day. This raises the question: how does a person fall to their death in a crowded urban block, with no one hearing or noticing until the day after?
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778866852188160?t=lCeZB8DJq2wC7Tw0UF2Rrw&s=08
20:30 claims the building was just a block away from Nika’s aunt’s residence.
How could news of a falling death of a young person in the neighborhood not have reached the family after more than a week?
How could news of a falling death of a young person in the neighborhood not have reached the family after more than a week?
Nika’s aunt said Nika’s national ID card was in her backpack. How did it take more than a week for authorities to identify her, especially if her body was found a black from her aunt’s house?
This ID was, moreover, never returned to the family.
This ID was, moreover, never returned to the family.
Security cam footage purporting to show Nika entering the building depicts a masked, covered young girl. The low resolution makes it difficult to identify the figure.
https://twitter.com/FSeifikaran/status/1577778940265041920
A brief flicker of a black bar reveals the camera is just one among at least three cameras in the building's system. But no other footage from any other angle is shown.
In 10/6 interview, Nika’s mother said “Two realities have become clear to us. One: Nika was killed the night she disappeared. Two: they took her body somewhere else and took pictures of it, and showed us nine days after”
t.me/VahidOnline/48…
t.me/VahidOnline/48…
In a 10/6 video message, Nika’s mother described authorities’ attempts to coerce her into accepting their narrative, while confirming her siblings had been so coerced.
radiofarda.com/a/32068260.html
radiofarda.com/a/32068260.html
Nika’s mother also says she was ultimately able to inspect the body. From the neck down, Nika had not been injured. But her skull had been smashed in, and there were fractures on her face and teeth.
Nika’s mother also reported authorities had threatened her to submit to a filmed confession herself.
Nika Shakarami is one of dozens of Iranians who have lost their lives in these protests. Instead of timely information to family members, authorities' response to attempts for accountability have been arrests, secret burials, and forced confessions on state TV.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
