Iran’s Ayatollah vows to EXECUTE culprits behind mass poisoning of 1,000 schoolgirls
Iran’s leader has declared that those responsible for the poisoning of more than 1,000 schoolchildren should be sentenced to death for committing an “unforgivable crime” if it is proven that the attacks were deliberate.
It was the first time that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the alleged poisonings, which began last year.
Since the end of November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolchildren, most of whom are girls, and some of whom require hospital treatment.
The poisonings began in Qom, south of Tehran, but have now been reported across the country, including in schools in the capital.
Officials have only acknowledged the incidents in recent weeks and They have not provided details about who may be behind the attacks, or what chemicals, if any, have been used.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) has declared that those responsible for the poisoning of more than 1,000 schoolchildren should be sentenced to death if the attacks are shown to be deliberate.
According to the state news agency IRNA, Khamenei said: “If the poisoning of the students is proven, those responsible for this crime should be sentenced to death and there will be no amnesty for them.”
Unlike neighboring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women’s education.
But some commentators have seen the alleged attacks as part of an extremist response to protests led by women and girls that have swept across Iran in recent months.
Protests broke out across the country and around the world following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in September.
Over the weekend, new protests against the alleged poisonings were seen in Iran and around the world.
Concerned parents protested in Iran’s capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday, with several gathering outside an Education Ministry building in western Tehran, according to Reuters.
More protests took place in Tehran and other cities, including Isfahan and Rasht, unverified videos suggest.
Elsewhere, Nikoo Azad, a psychology student from Iran, held a silent protest in Bangalore, India, wearing a respirator mask for chemical fumes while highlighting poisonings.
A young woman lies in hospital after reports of poisoning at an unspecified location in Iran
Authorities have acknowledged suspected poisoning attacks at more than 50 schools in 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces since November.
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said over the weekend that investigators had collected “suspicious samples”.
He called on the public to remain calm and accused anonymous enemies of inciting fear to undermine the Islamic Republic.
Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings, while Iranian media reports put the number of schools at more than 60.
Nikoo Azad, a psychology student from Iran, wears a chemical fume respirator mask and holds a banner during a silent protest against poisonings in Bangalore.
At least one children’s school has also been affected, according to reports.
Videos of distraught parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media.
Iran has imposed strict restrictions on independent media since protests broke out across the country in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and extent of the alleged poisonings.
On Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities arrested a Qom journalist, Ali Pourtabatabaei, who had been reporting regularly on the alleged poisonings.
A person is carried to an ambulance outside a girls’ school after reports of poisoning in Ardabil, Iran.
The hardline Kayhan newspaper in an editorial had called for the arrest of newspaper editors who published articles on the crisis that criticized Iran’s theocracy.
The protests were sparked by the death of Amini, who had been detained by the moral police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.
Religious hardliners in Iran have been known to attack women they perceive to be dressing immodestly in public.
But even at the height of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and girls continued to attend schools and universities.
Protests broke out across the country and around the world following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in September. Pictured: Protesters hold a banner depicting Amini at a rally in Brussels, Belgium.
People in Rome, Italy, take part in the ‘Freedom Rally for Iran’ demonstration against the Iranian regime last month
Children affected by the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or unable to move.
Some described the smell of tangerine, chlorine or cleaning agents.
Vahidi, the interior minister, said in his statement that two girls remain in hospital due to underlying chronic conditions. No deaths have been reported.
As more attacks were reported on Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining of pain in their legs, abdomen and dizziness.
State media have mainly referred to this as “hysterical reactions”.
The World Health Organization documented a similar phenomenon in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, when hundreds of girls across the country complained of strange odors and poisoning.
No evidence was found to support the suspicions, and the WHO said they appeared to be “mass psychogenic illnesses”.