According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Iranian Police Spokesperson Said Muntazarulmehdi shared the first details of the detentions related to the poisoning cases of female students, which has caused concern across the country.
Muntazarulmehdi said, “5 people, 3 of whom are women, were detained in Laristan district of Fars province for throwing poisonous substances in the garden of girls’ schools.” said.
They threw nitrogen gas in the garden of 7 schools
Stating that it was determined that the suspects threw nitrogen gas in the gardens of 7 schools in the district, Muntazarulmehdi stated that they recorded the actions of the 3 women who were detained, which caused the poisoning of 53 female students, and sent them to the “Iran International” television, which stands out with its opposition to the Iranian regime.
Muntazarulmehdi said the suspects said during the interrogation that their aim was “to create a negative perception about the Iranian administration and to create distrust in schools”.
Deputy Minister of Interior Majid Mirahmedi, in his statement yesterday, announced that some people who were found to be related to the mass poisoning of students were detained by intelligence teams in 5 states.
Mass poisoning cases in schools in Iran
Since November 30, 2022, there have been mass poisoning cases in schools where mostly female students are educated in Iran. The students show symptoms such as respiratory distress, nausea, headache and numbness in the limbs.
President İbrahim Reisi appointed Minister of Interior Ahmed Vahidi, Minister of Intelligence İsmail Hatib and Minister of Health Bahram Aynullahi on 1 March to investigate the source of suspicious cases.
In a statement on March 3, the chief said, “Enemies of Iran” were responsible for the poisoning of female students and said, “Today, hostilities have increased with the progress of the country, the latest example of this is the attempt to create an atmosphere of insecurity in schools and anxiety in families.” he said.
Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement that he had instructed the authorities to “take the incident seriously and punish the perpetrators with the most severe punishment” in a statement amid the growing concern in the community.
Head of the Judiciary Gulam Hüseyin Muhsini Ejei also said that the perpetrators of the poisoning cases would be tried by “execution”.
Mohammad Hasan Asferi, Member of the Iranian Parliamentary Investigation Commission on Poisoning Cases, stated in his statement yesterday that more than 5 thousand students, mostly girls, have been poisoned in 230 schools in 25 provinces since November 30, 2022.