To date, more than 1,000 cases of possible poisoning have been reported at over 50 schools in Iran. Schoolgirls have reported a smell of chlorine and strong detergents which trigger a number of unpleasant symptoms. Many have been admitted to hospital with breathing problems, nausea and dizziness. Some have lost feeling in their body. “Thank you for the last” from the regime? At the weekend, Iranian authorities acknowledged that over 50 schools in the country have been exposed to possible poison attacks since November. Almost all the incidents have affected girls’ schools. The opposition activist network 1500 Tasvir has published a series of videos on social media of schoolgirls allegedly exposed to poison gas. They claim that on Sunday alone they received 304 alerts about possible gas attacks and that they have verified 205 of these cases. According to the BBC, there were reports of attacks in 15 towns and villages yesterday. Human rights groups such as Iran human rights have suggested that Iranian authorities are directly or indirectly involved in the case. That the attacks are a “thank you for last” after the protests against the regime last autumn. – Iranian girls are being poisoned in schools around Iran. The international community must put pressure on the regime and demand access for investigators on the ground in Iran. Khamenei and his regime must be stopped, writes the Iranian opposition Reza Pahlavi on Twitter. Pahlavi is the crown prince of Iran and has lived in exile since the Iranian monarchy was abolished in 1979. – Will execute the perpetrators On Monday, the country’s head Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei went on his website and commented on the events for the first time: – If it turns out that it is talk about poisoning, it is an unforgivable crime. The perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished, says Khamenei. Head of the Iranian prosecution Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei says that those who are eventually arrested and convicted in the case will be executed. Who is behind the attacks has not been confirmed. There is speculation as to whether the perpetrators belong to extreme Islamist groups that oppose schooling for girls. The first recorded attack occurred in Qom on 30 November last year. – Protesting parents met with tear gas Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commented for the first time on the poison attacks on Monday. Photo: WANA NEWS AGENCY / Reuters Several schools are closed for fear of more attacks. 1500 Tasvir has published a video purporting to show girls from the Fatemieh art school in Hamadan shouting “we do not want to die”. In another video, a woman from the city of Rasht claims that security forces fired tear gas at worried mothers protesting outside the city’s education authorities. On Saturday, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that investigators have secured “suspicious samples” at the affected schools. He did not go into detail about what the samples should have contained. Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi said last week that examinations of the girls indicate that they were exposed to a “mild toxin”. 1500 Tasvir claims they are sitting on blood samples from 25 of the girls who fell ill and that these show that the girls have a lower number of red blood cells than is usual.
ttn-69
An unforgivable crime – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
