Khamenei orders swift trial of school deputy accused of sexual harassment; silence continues on Saeed Toosi case
In a decree broadcast on state media on Tuesday night, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran ordered the head of Iran's judiciary to "implement divine limits on the defendants as soon as possible" after the trial. His response was to the publication of news about the vice-principal of a high school in Tehran who has been accused of widespread sexual harassment of students.
Ayatollah Khamenei's order comes at a time when, in recent years, allegations surrounding one of his close associates have not only not been met with a similar order, but senior members of the Supreme Leader's Household have used their authority to halt the processing of the case of the plaintiffs of Saeed Tusi, the Supreme Leader's Household's Quran reciter.
Two years ago, the Voice of America's Last Page program reported that Mohammad Gandomnejad Toosi, known as Saeed Toosi, a Quran reciter close to the Supreme Leader's residence, was accused of sexually harassing the young reciters after a few years of complaints from the parents of some of the young reciters. Although after two years of investigation in 2015, the case was taken seriously with the families' follow-up and the judge sentenced this reciter close to the Supreme Leader's residence to 4 years in prison, the Islamic Republic's judiciary ultimately acquitted Saeed Toosi in January of this year.
Meanwhile, despite various statements by judicial authorities regarding the existence of the Saeed Toosi case and the complaints of the parents of the teenage reciters, Ayatollah Khamenei never ordered the judiciary to decisively investigate this case without considering Saeed Toosi's connection to his office.
In the last two years, Saeed Toosi's victims have been repeatedly harassed and bullied by intelligence agencies.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran had earlier claimed in another news report on Tuesday, June 28, that he does not have control over the judiciary and the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, which are appointed by him. However, on Tuesday evening, in response to the news of the rape of the high school vice-chancellor, he wrote a letter to the head of the judiciary demanding an immediate investigation.
On Monday, the Khabar Online website published a report on the sexual harassment of students at the high school by one of its officials. According to Khabar Online, one of the parents of the students said that her son had become aggressive and nervous for several months and after he was taken to a doctor for treatment of his aggression, he told his parents what had happened at the high school.
According to the student's father, a school official was forcing children to commit immoral acts by broadcasting pornographic images via mobile phones.
According to Khabar Online, images provided by the parents of the students of this school official show the aforementioned person, handcuffed and in the presence of the police, confessing that he had incited children to immoral acts by broadcasting images of pornographic films.
The parents of the students say that the children are currently undergoing psychological treatment and that despite the fact that it is their exam season, they have been severely damaged mentally and emotionally. Some news reports state that the number of these students is 17, while other reports state that it is more than 30, and the position of the offender is stated as a high school teacher or assistant principal.
Source: Voice of America
