The Iranian authorities have arrested several people on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the gas poisoning of thousands of girls in female educational centers, amid citizen protests and the repression of the media.
Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi announced that "some arrests" have been made in five provinces, but did not indicate how many people have been detained or whether they belong to any group or organization. "Security agencies continue to investigate," Mirahmadi said, according to the Mehr agency.
These are the first arrests linked to the poisoning of around 5,000 female students from 230 educational centers in 25 of Iran's provinces, according to data provided by parliamentarian Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of a commission investigating the poisonings.
The wave of poisonings began three months ago, has multiplied in recent days and has forced the hospitalization of thousands of students, without the death of students having been disclosed.
The students have suffered symptoms such as throat irritation, headaches, breathing difficulties, weakness, arrhythmias or the inability to move the extremities after inhaling an alleged gas.
The wave of poisonings is fueling popular discontent, especially among parents, given the inefficiency of the authorities when it comes to stopping attacks that seem destined to paralyze the education of the students.
There have been protests in front of schools and educational offices shouting "death to the government that murders children" and "death to the Islamic Republic." The protests have taken place in numerous cities of the country such as Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Mashhad, Rasht, Sanandaj or Shiraz.
According to activists, some of these protests were broken up by the security forces with water and gas cannons, while the official media did not report on these demonstrations.
In addition, the judicial authorities have filed charges against various media outlets in the country such as the Shargh or Hammihan newspapers for "spreading rumours" about the poisonings. "Those who spread rumors will face legal consequences," Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said, according to the ISNA agency.
The announcement of the arrests comes a day after the Ministry of Health published a report in which it blamed "anxiety" on the vast majority of cases reported for gas poisoning. "Less than 10% of the cases had real symptoms and most are related to anxiety," said Iranian Deputy Health Minister Saeed Karimi, who is part of a team investigating poisonings.
"Some of the students were exposed to an irritant substance that is mainly inhaled," said the deputy minister, who did not explain what product it is.
The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, yesterday described these attacks as an "unforgivable crime" and affirmed that if it is proven that they are deliberate, the culprits should "receive the maximum punishment", which in Iran is the death penalty.
In Iran, female education has not been questioned in the 43 years of existence of the Islamic Republic and some parents link the poisonings with the protests with a marked feminist tone in recent months, which had calmed down after strong state repression.
The students of schools and institutes participated in these protests, took off their veils, shouted "woman, life, freedom" and made contemptuous gestures at portraits of Khamenei and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruholá Khomeini.
