A 14-year-old girl in Iran was reportedly raped and killed for removing her hijab in school in amid ongoing protests rocking the Islamic Republic.
The New York Times reports that the teen, identified as Masoomeh, was from a poor neighborhood in Tehran and took her headscarf off at school in protest.
School cameras identified the girl and she was arrested. She was later treated at a hospital for "severe vaginal tears," The Times reported, citing the Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based watchdog organization.
The girl later died and her mother, who wanted to report her daughter’s rape and death, has disappeared.
AS PROTESTS INCREASE, IRAN MAY SOON CONFRONT THE POWER OF SPORTS
Her death comes amid months of widespread protests in Iran, sparked by the police custody death of Jina Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16, 2022.
Amini had been in the custody of Gasht-e-Ershad, the Persian name of the notorious morality police for "improper wearing of hijab."
Protests have spread to more than 140 cities and towns. Reports indicate that at least 700 people have died due to the government’s crackdown, including dozens of children.
"In a movement in which the female is at the center, the barbaric, violent regime has used rape as a weapon to further demolish the morale of its people. They’ve targeted women in the court of law, for dancing, for singing, for showing some hair, and now they’re violating them in the worst way possible before robbing them of their lives," Lisa Daftari, editor-in-chief of the Foreign Desk said in a statement.
"Makes you wonder where the so-called champions of women’s rights are around the world, and why they’re not doing more for the women of Iran. It boggles the mind that up until last week, these brutal dictators were sitting on the world’s foremost committee for women’s rights. How long will Iran’s women have to endure this brutality before leaders step up to condemn this regime?"
Fox News’ Peter Aitken and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
