Document Shows Iranian Protester Raped Before Murder

A recently unveiled document has revealed that 16-year-old Nika Shakarami was raped by state-backed security during the Women, Life, Freedom protests.

The document, circulating on social media and seemingly discovered among a trove of files accessed after a hacktivist group breached the servers of the Iranian judiciary on Tuesday, contains evidence confirming that Shakarami had been subjected to rape amid a state sanctioned campaign of sexual violence as documented by rights groups.

The trove of documents obtained by the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali covers a wide range of sensitive topics, spanning from internal discussions within the National Security Council following Mahsa Amini's death to efforts aimed at curbing unauthorized VPN vendors, protests against the 2020 employment examination, and cases related to economic corruption.

Abbas Masjedi Arani, head of the Forensic Medicine Organization has sent the "very confidential" letter to the Supreme National Security Council, explicitly stating, "In the genital examination, signs indicating assault or rough sexual intercourse were evident."

Nika Shakarami, a 16-year-old, was abducted and murdered by security forces during the anti-regime protests which swept Iran in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Nika's final communication with a friend in September detailed how security forces were pursuing her on Keshavarz Boulevard in Tehran before she mysteriously disappeared. Her family identified her body ten days later, revealing signs of torture, abuse, and beatings inflicted by security forces.

Government agents later seized Nika's body from Khorramabad and secretly buried her in a village in Lorestan, located in western Iran.

The aftermath of Mahsa Amini's death saw over 500 civilians, including children and teens like Nika, lose their lives in the ensuing uprising.