Yesterday afternoon, April 23, 2023, a woman was killed in a “clash over hijab” in the Shahzadeh Mahan Historical Garden in Kerman.

According to the head of the Kerman Emergency Medical Center, Mohammad Saberi, the brawl happened yesterday around 3:00 PM, the victim was 72 years old. She was a tourist from Jask, Hormozgan province, who had come to Mahan with a group of three Peugeot cars. The clash also left two injured: a 44-year-old man who was hit in the head and a 38-year-old man who was taken to a medical center with “a gash on the back of his head and ear”.

Mohammad Saberi introduces the other side of the dispute as people who came from Sistan and Baluchistan by bus.

Mohammad Saberi’s report, which was broadcast by Kerman IRIB news agency (Islamic Republic’s TV & Radio), did not match the initial reports about the incident that were published earlier in IRGC-affiliated media, Tasnim and Fars (Fars, 18:38 and Tasnim, 19:20 local time).

Fars reported the murdered woman as 60 years old. Only one side of the fight is introduced as “tourist” who came by bus. It introduces the bus passengers as “victims” of “violence and obscenity” of people who were outside the fight. It does not mention the cause or identity of the “bus passengers”. The featured photo of Fars News Agency’s report is a frame from a video taken of the fight by somebody inside the bus. This video was widely published on social media at the same time. In the footage, the obscenity of “passengers on the bus” can be heard.

Tasnim runs its story with the statements of Ali Babaei, the governor of Kerman. According to Tasnim’s report, the murdered woman is 59 years old. Tasnim refuses to mention anything else about the cause and details of the incident. Tasnim’s piece, however, only insists on the “personal” nature of the dispute and, like Fars news, emphasizes that “the situation is under control.”

In the video circulating on social media, it is seen that people of inside the bus are calling the other side “dishonorable” (minute 01:08). One of the “bus passengers” says: “Women must wear hijab” (00:48 second). The “Commander of Good” as the camerawoman is called “Mahdieh”. In the video, the type of hijab of one of the bus women can be seen. They are wearing “chadors” (long black cloth to cover from head to legs, it is commonly worn by female Basij forces). At minute 1:33, one of the bus passengers asks: “Did the woman die?” Another one shouts in response: “They should die!” And another woman says: “Screw it! It’s their own fault!”

There is no sign of ambulance or the police. A woman is lying on the ground and is in distress. There is no sign of the “security” and “control” of Tasnim and Fars, either.

Users on social media have identified the “bus passengers” as Basijis coming from Qassem Soleimani’s grave to the Garden.

“Rouydad 24” news agency, in a report that was published at 23:37 last night, reported the cause of the incident as “hijab”. In the report, the victim is a 60-year-old woman who died in the hospital. The report also mentioned the “people’s support” for the women who were attacked by the “Commanders of Good!” The report includes a video taken from inside the bus with the watermark of the Telegram channels of IRGC’s cyber forces.

Translation of this post by Sahar.