Poisoning of schoolgirls in Iran: the UN calls for a "transparent investigation"
People are rescued from a school in Fardis, after alleged cases of poisoning, in a photo from a video from March 1, 2023. © Reuters
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After a series of cases of poisoning by mysterious gases of young girls since November in schools in Iran, the UN joined its voice this Friday to that of the head of German diplomacy to ask for their elucidation.
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The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations calls for "
a transparent investigation
" and public conclusions.
"
We are very concerned about these allegations that girls are being deliberately targeted in what appear to be mysterious circumstances
," High Commissioner's spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
This
high-profile mass poisoning case
began in late November when the media reported the first cases of respiratory poisoning of hundreds of girls aged around 10 in schools in the holy city. from Qom (center).
Nearly 800 cases, including a hundred on Wednesday
On Wednesday March 1, students from seven girls' schools in the city of Ardabil (north) were indisposed in the morning by gas fumes and 108 people were taken to hospital, the head of the hospital department announced to the Tasnim news agency.
The general condition of the students, who suffered from breathing difficulties and nausea, is evolving favorably, he said.
Cases were also seen this week in Tehran.
In a high school in Tehransar, in the west of the capital, students were "
poisoned by the projection of a kind of spray
", indicated for its part the news agency Fars, which quotes parents of students .
According to estimates given on Wednesday by the spokeswoman for the parliamentary health committee, Zahra Sheikhi, nearly 800 students have been affected since the first cases.
The Ministry of Health explained on Sunday that "
certain individuals
" were seeking through these actions to "
close all schools, especially girls' schools
".
►
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Iran: woman, life, freedom
The case caused a wave of anger towards the power of the country, where voices denounced the silence of the authorities in the face of the growing number of schools affected.
Some students were briefly hospitalized, but none were seriously affected, according to the emergency services.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday instructed the Minister of the Interior to "
follow the case as soon as possible
" and to "
inform
" the public about the investigation in order to "
sweep away the concerns of the families
".
"
Authors directly or indirectly linked to
Iranian institutions", according to an NGO
But in
a press release
, the NGO “
Iran Human Rights considers that these attacks are coordinated chemical terrorist attacks
”.
According to its director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, "
the absence of appropriate and preventive measures on the part of the authorities of the Islamic Republic reinforces the hypothesis according to which the perpetrators of the attacks are directly or indirectly linked to state institutions placed under the command of Ali Khamenei
”.
The organization “
calls for a strong and immediate response from the international community
”.
...and given the strong probability that the perpetrators are close to the Islamic Republic's security institutions, it calls for a strong and urgent response from the international community.#IranRevolution #Iran #SaveIranianSchoolgirls https://t.co/Gb0brwV96x pic. twitter.com/BJornFTmzw
— Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO) (@IHRights) March 2, 2023
“
The information about poisoned schoolgirls in Iran is shocking
”, also reacted the German Minister of Foreign Affairs on Twitter.
"
All cases must be clarified
", demands Annalena Baerbock.
“
Girls must be able to go to school without fear, whether in Tehran or Ardabil
(north-west), believes the German minister.
It is nothing less than their right.
»
The World Health Organization (WHO) for its part is in contact with the Iranian health authorities.
Its spokeswoman Margaret Harris said the agency was "
using other means to better understand the event so that we have better evidence
."
The Iranian authorities have been criticized on numerous occasions for the repression
of the protest movement underway in the country
, since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman who died following her arrest by the morality police. accused of violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.
►
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Iranians, champions of circumventing censorship on social networks
(
With
AFP)
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