The incident gained attention in the press due to the possible police involvement in her death.

Zahra Bani Yaghoub was a distinguished young medical doctor and had several recognitions including her top rank in nationwide university entrance examination.

"[4] Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi has taken the case and is currently the official lawyer of Zahra Bani Yaghoub's family.

That same year, Zahra was sitting on a park bench with her fiancé when Iranian police arrested the couple.

[6] They were taken to jail and held in separate cells, and Yaghoub died under custody the following day.