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Iran supreme leader calls suspected schoolgirl poisonings ‘unforgivable’ Iran supreme leader calls suspected schoolgirl poisonings ‘unforgivable’
(about 1 hour later)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says if proven to be deliberate, culprits should be sentenced to deathAyatollah Ali Khamenei says if proven to be deliberate, culprits should be sentenced to death
Iran’s supreme leader has said that if a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools are proven to be deliberate the culprits should be sentenced to death for committing an “unforgivable crime”. Iran’s supreme leader has called the suspected poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls in recent months an “unforgivable” crime amid signs that hundreds of schoolgirls have been treated in hospital, many more than the regime had previously admitted.
It was the first time Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the suspected poisonings, which began late last year. “Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students’ poisoning. This is an unforgivable and big crime … the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. He added there would be no amnesty for those found guilty.
Iranian officials acknowledged them only in recent weeks and have provided no details on who may be behind the attacks or what chemicals – if any – have been used. Unlike neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women and girls’ education. It is his first reaction since the suspected poisonings began three months ago, but came as one of the leading journalists reporting on them, Ali Portabatabaei, the editor of Qom News, was arrested.
“If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them,” Khamenei said on Monday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Shahriar Heydari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s security commission, demanded the country’s security council step up their inquiries into what he called an organised movement
Authorities have acknowledged suspected attacks at more than 50 schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces since November. More than 1,000 Iranian girls in different schools have suffered various degrees of suspected poison attacks since November, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by extremists religious groups opposed to girls’ education in line with the thinking of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the latest episode, a group of schoolgirls were taken to Imam Khomeini hospital in Kohdasht.
The interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said over the weekend that “suspicious samples” had been gathered by investigators, without elaborating. He called on the public to remain calm and accused unnamed enemies of inciting fear to undermine the country. In a fresh wave of attacks it was reported 39 students in Shandarman Masal, 30 students in Qochan, and 16 students and a teacher in Neishabur were poisoned. The number of poisoned students in Khuzestan province increased to more than 1,100, and a group of students from a girls’ dormitory in Mashhad also went to hospital after being poisoned.
Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings, while Iranian media reports have put the number at more than 60. At least one boys’ school reportedly has been affected. Habib Haibar, vice-chancellor of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, said 1,104 school girls had been treated in Khuzestan hospitals due to poisoning
Unlike neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women and girls’ education. Even at the height of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution women and girls continued attending schools and universities.
The suspected attacks that started in November in the holy city of Qom in central Iran have spread to at least 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces, prompting some parents to take their children out of school and hold protests against the establishment.
The seriousness with which the security forces have sought out the perpetrators is compared with their treatment of protesters demanding the right to choose whether to wear the hijab.
Theories abound in Iranian society about the cause of the poisoning, ranging from the children possessing a heightened sense of smell, a collective paranoia, the work of the Israeli intelligence services to the work of reactionary zealots.
The controversy has been deepened by efforts by some conservative minded politicians in parliament to object to any debate being held.
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The suspected poisonings have spread further fear among parents during months of unrest sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September. Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media.The suspected poisonings have spread further fear among parents during months of unrest sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September. Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media.
Iran has imposed stringent restrictions on independent media since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and scope of the suspected poisonings.Iran has imposed stringent restrictions on independent media since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and scope of the suspected poisonings.
On Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities arrested a Qom-based journalist, Ali Pourtabatabaei, who had been regularly reporting on the suspected poisonings. The hardline Kayhan newspaper in an editorial had called for the arrests of newspaper publishers who printed articles on the crisis critical of Iran’s theocracy.
Religious hard-liners in Iran have been known to attack women they perceive as dressing immodestly in public. But even at the height of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution women and girls continued attending schools and universities.
The children affected in the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.The children affected in the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.
Reports suggest at least 400 schoolchildren have fallen ill since November. Vahidi said in his statement that two girls remained in hospital because of underlying chronic conditions. There have been no reported deaths.
As more attacks were reported on Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining about pain in the legs, abdomen and dizziness. State media have mainly referred to these as “hysteric reactions”.
The World Health Organization documented a similar phenomenon in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012, when hundreds of girls across the country complained of strange smells and poisoning. No evidence was found to support the suspicions and the WHO said it appeared to be “mass psychogenic illnesses”.The World Health Organization documented a similar phenomenon in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012, when hundreds of girls across the country complained of strange smells and poisoning. No evidence was found to support the suspicions and the WHO said it appeared to be “mass psychogenic illnesses”.