The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, demanded the death penalty for those involved in the poisonings in schools. It is reported by TASS with reference to the Fars agency.
“This is a serious crime and there can be no leniency. If the fact of poisoning is confirmed, then the perpetrators must be sentenced to capital punishment. There will be no pardon for their people,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the agency.
Earlier, Reuters reported that protests erupted in Tehran and other Iranian cities over the poisoning of schoolgirls with an unknown toxic substance. The affected girls complained of nausea, palpitations, and headaches. In total, hundreds of students were poisoned. Iranian officials blamed “enemies of Tehran” for this.
At the same time, the head of the country’s Ministry of Health said that schoolgirls suffered from “light poisoning”, and some politicians suggested that they could become a target of radical Islamist groups opposed to women’s education. Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said investigators had found “suspicious samples” that were being studied.
On Saturday, the “disease” affected more than 30 schools in at least 10 of Iran’s 31 provinces. According to a video verified by Reuters, the parents of the stricken girls went to the Education Ministry building in Tehran on Saturday to protest the poisonings. As a result, the action turned into an anti-government demonstration.
Schoolgirls participated in anti-government protests that began in September after the death of a Kurdish girl, Mahsa Amini, in a police station.
Source: Rosbalt
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