Iran, first arrests in case of poisoning of female students

Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mir Ahmadi said in a statement on Tuesday that the first arrests have been made in the case of poisoning schoolgirls. A member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee says that so far more than 5,000 students have been poisoned in this way.

Speaking to Iran’s state TV, Ahmadi said that these arrests were carried out in five provinces based on information received by intelligence agencies and their investigative measures.

Since the end of November, several incidents of gas poisoning of female students have been reported in several schools across Iran. Students reported symptoms such as difficulty breathing, nausea and dizziness after smelling an “unpleasant” or “unpleasant” smell, which has sparked panic among parents and demanded action from the authorities. What did Many of the affected students have been treated in hospitals.

On Monday, the member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, said in a statement given to the Iranian news agency Asna that these incidents have affected 25 provinces and about 230 schools out of the total 31 provinces of Iran. More than 5,000 female students have been poisoned till now. He said that various tests are being conducted to identify the causes of these incidents and the poison given to the students, but no specific information regarding the poison has been obtained so far.

On Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement that those who tried to poison schoolgirls in recent months should face “severe punishment”. In his first public comments about the mysterious poisoning, Khamenei said, “If the poisoning is proven, it will be an unforgivable crime and the perpetrators should be severely punished.”

Meanwhile, Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni said that those arrested for poisoning the schoolgirls would be charged with spreading “riot on earth”. A charge punishable by death. After the poisoning of the female students, there is a new wave of anger among the Iranian people and they are demanding action from the authorities.

These incidents have also drawn international concern and Western countries have called for an independent investigation into the matter, especially in light of the fact that the first case of poisoning of female students came to light when an Iranian Kurdish woman. Since Mehsa Amini’s death in police custody, anti-government protests across the country have not ended.