Violent Treatment of Parents of Poisoned Students in Tehran

Plainclothes forces of the Islamic Republic regime subjected protesting parents of poisoned students in Tehran to severe physical violence.

A video has been circulated on social media showing the beating and assault by plainclothes security forces of the Islamic Republic government against parents of poisoned students in Tehransar.

Following the spread of poisoning incidents in schools across at least 10 provinces involving 900 students, and the extension of this wave to Tehran schools, many parents of students gathered in front of school gates in protest and demanded investigation into the matter. However, plainclothes government forces, who apparently had prior knowledge of the student poisonings, were stationed in front of the “13 Aban” school in Tehransar on alert to prevent the protests.

In the released video, several plainclothes officers and one uniformed official were seen confronting a woman who is the mother of a student at “13 Aban” school. One of them covered the woman’s mouth while another officer in military uniform grabbed her hand, and another man violently pulled her hair and collar in an attempt to transfer her to their vehicle. During this incident, some people were trying to rescue this woman from the government agents.

This released video on social media sparked reactions from many people, especially parents. Mohsen Burhani, a human rights lawyer, commented on the video: “A woman screaming in protest over the poisoning of her child at school is not a criminal, she is a protester and concerned. Do not make a mother’s scream a security matter, show compassion instead.”

Mohammad Reza Javadi-Yeganeh, professor of sociology at Tehran University, also posted a tweet on the matter: “If you understand the collective psychology of the Iranian people and comprehend the high sensitivity of people regarding female students and their mothers, and the increase in concerns and lowering of people’s tolerance threshold, you know that tonight the identity of this person and this video must be clarified and explained to the public.”

In a statement issued by the office of the IRGC spokesman regarding this incident, the commander of Tehran’s police announced that police personnel had no role in the incident and assigned a team of professional police officers to investigate it. Officials claimed ignorance of the identity of this person while his identity was identified and circulated on social media by the public. The identity of this agent has been confirmed as Samad Asadi, information commander of the “Al-Ghadir” Basij in Tehransar and resident of Pasdaran neighborhood in Tehransar, who is frequently present at “Masjid al-Nabi” mosque in this area. The Basij information commander whose identity officials claimed not to know, said they have yet to find him.

This denial of knowledge by officials sparked widespread reactions. Many people stated that after the release of a video of a girl dancing on her house roof, she was identified and arrested that night, or a teacher who played music in class was immediately banned and fired, how can you claim ignorance about your appointed commander and the firearms authority of your officers? Moreover, how can you fail to investigate poisonings that have been occurring in schools for three months?

It should be noted that a large number of students from two schools, “Hajar” and “13 Aban” in Tehransar, which are adjacent to each other, were poisoned and transferred to hospitals. Additionally, students from “Yari-Jani” elementary school in Narmak were also targets of chemical gas poisoning, to the extent that parents of the students chanted anti-Islamic Republic slogans in front of the school in protest.

Also, according to accounts from parents of students in Narmak, security forces attacked the parents who were chanting and treated them violently.

How long will the Islamic Republic regime’s scenario of poisoning and destroying girls and young children continue? Will the Iranian people, many of whom are parents of these students, continue their protests toward overthrowing and ending the Islamic Republic regime?