Iran: first arrests in the case of intoxicated schoolgirls
Tehran intends to prove that the file, serious and mysterious, is being handled as it should be. The Iranian Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday the first arrests in the case of the series of poisonings, which have affected thousands of schoolgirls for three months. “Several people have been arrested in five provinces and the services are continuing their investigation,” Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi told state television.
He did not give details of their identity, the circumstances of their arrest and their alleged involvement. These mysterious poisonings have caused strong emotion in Iran, where parents of students have mobilized to call on the authorities to act.
VIDEO. Mysterious gas poisonings in girls’ schools in Iran
In total, “more than 5,000 students have been affected” in “230 schools” located in 25 of the 31 provinces of the country since the end of November, specifies Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary commission of inquiry responsible for making the light on the causes of this wave of poisonings.
After having touched schools and colleges for a long time, the poisoning wave spread to high school girls in recent days, and at universities.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke about the matter for the first time on Monday. He called for “severe sentences” against those found guilty in the case. They “must be sentenced to severe penalties” and “there will be no amnesty” for them, warned Iran’s highest authority.
