An Iranian teenager was sexually assaulted and murdered by three men working for Iran’s security forces, according to a leaked document and a BBC investigation.

The disappearance and death of Nika Sakarami took on great proportions while her photo became synonymous with the struggle of women in Iran for more freedoms. As street protests spread across Iran in the fall of 2022, her name became a rallying cry for angry crowds demonstrating against the country’s strict rules, including the mandatory hijab.

In Nika’s case, her family found her body in a morgue more than a week after she disappeared from a protest. However, Iranian authorities have denied Nika’s death is linked to the demonstration and, after conducting their own investigation, said she took her own life.

According to a confidential document, however, marked “Highly Confidential”, her case was subject to a hearing conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Included in this document are the names of her killers and the senior commanders who tried to hide the truth.

It contains disturbing details of events that took place in the back of a van in which security forces were holding Nika.

During her detention, one of the men abused her while sitting on top of her despite the fact that she was handcuffed and resisting. The girl was then beaten with bats, the BBC reveals.

At least 551 protesters were killed by security forces during Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement, most of them by gunfire, according to a UN mission.

The protests subsided after a few months due to a bloody crackdown by the security forces.