(A7) Western governments on Wednesday expressed concern after a teenager was reported to be in a coma as a result of an alleged assault by the Iranian morality police, AFP reported.

A rights group also called for an international investigation into the confrontation on the Tehran metro.

Armita Garawand, 16, was attacked on Sunday by female police officers, according to the Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw.

Iranian authorities have claimed she “fainted” due to low blood pressure, denying any involvement of security forces.

The incident took place a year after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women.

Her death sparked several months of anti-government protests throughout Iran. The government crackdown on the demonstrations that followed Amini’s death resulted in hundreds of people being killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested.

“A young woman in Iran is fighting for her life again. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. It’s intolerable,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

Abram Paley, the acting US special envoy on Iran, posted on X that Washington was “shocked and concerned about reports that Iran’s so-called morality police have assaulted” the teenager.

“We are following news of her condition. We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses,” Paley added.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights urged “an independent international investigation… to establish the details” of the incident, accusing Tehran of “a long history of distorting facts and concealing evidence of their crimes”.

“The Islamic republic continues its harassment and repression of women under the guise of fighting mandatory hijab violations,” said the group’s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

A year after Amini’s death, Iranian authorities have launched a renewed push to crack down on women defying the Islamic Republic’s strict dress rules for women.

In July, Iranian authorities announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf. Following the announcement, morality police returned to the streets.

In April, Iranian authorities announced that cameras would be installed in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalize unveiled women.