The leaked document detailing the sexual assault and killing of Iranian teenager Nika Shakarami by security forces has shed light on the events leading up to her disappearance and death during an anti-regime protest in 2022. The report contains disturbing details of the assault and the attempts by senior commanders to cover up the truth. Despite the BBC reaching out to the Iranian government and Revolutionary Guards for comments, they did not respond. The report contradicts the official narrative put forward by the government, which claims Nika committed suicide, and suggests there was a sexual assault that led to her death.
Nika Shakarami’s involvement in the protest and the events leading up to her disappearance have been widely reported, making her a symbol of the fight for women’s rights in Iran. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement, sparked by the death of another woman in police custody over a hijab violation, gained momentum across the country. Nika’s family discovered her body in a mortuary after she had been missing for over a week. The authorities denied any connection between Nika’s death and the protest, instead attributing it to suicide. However, the leaked report provides a detailed account of Nika’s last moments, challenging the government’s version of events.
The report describes how Nika was detained by undercover security forces during the protest and placed in a van with three men from Team 12, part of the IRGC’s security apparatus. The men allegedly sexually assaulted Nika, leading to a physical altercation that resulted in her death. The team leader, Morteza Jalil, admitted to leaving Nika’s body in the street under orders from a senior officer named Naeem 16. Despite the evidence presented in the report, the government’s official investigation concluded that Nika had jumped to her death from a building, casting doubt on the authorities’ claims.
The BBC’s investigation into the authenticity of the leaked report revealed inconsistencies with typical fake official Iranian documents, leading them to verify its validity through a former Iranian intelligence officer. The officer confirmed the existence of a case file related to anti-government protests in 2022 that included the report in question. Additionally, the identity of Naeem 16 was traced to a Captain Mohammad Zamani serving in the IRGC. The report’s allegations were presented to the IRGC and the Iranian government, but no response was received.
The lack of accountability for Nika’s death is attributed to the fact that the perpetrators were part of Hezbollah, an Iranian paramilitary group, and not subjected to the IRGC’s jurisdiction. The report states that due to their affiliation with Hezbollah, further action against the individuals involved was not possible. While Naeem 16 received a written reprimand, the members of Team 12 were not punished for their role in Nika’s death. The violent crackdown on protesters during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement resulted in hundreds of deaths, with many attributed to security forces using excessive force. The movement eventually subsided due to the government’s harsh response, with a renewed crackdown on dress code violations following Aida Shakarami’s arrest, Nika’s elder sister.
