Dozens more girls have been poisoned in schools in Iran

8 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

At least 60 more girls have been poisoned at Hajar school in Iran’s western Khuzestan province, and many other recent cases are reported in at least three other schools in the country. Since December these cases of poisoning have multiplied, coinciding with the participation of women in political protests.

Early this Saturday, personnel from the Hajar school issued a warning for several cases of poisoning, reports the Iranian news agency ILNA. A total of 60 girls were treated after being transferred by their families, of which 20 confirmed symptoms of poisoning, reports Radio Farda, a Farsi affiliate of the American radio station Radio Liberty.

On the other hand, the Coordination Council of the Unions of Educators of Iran and the Human Rights organization Heh Ngav have denounced new cases of poisoning in female schools in centers such as a school in Ardabil or two female educational centers in the city of Naqdé .

The first poisonings were reported in December at a school located in Qom, the capital of the province of the same name, but since then they have spread to other parts of the country, coinciding with the protests over the death in custody of the Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini for not wear the veil well.

Both the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the President, Ebrahim Raisi, have considered these incidents part of a conspiracy orchestrated from abroad. The female students mainly suffer from respiratory problems, nausea and dizziness.

Khamenei has stated that the poisonings are “an inexcusable crime” and has called for “harsh punishments” against those responsible for these events, which have unleashed significant alarm at the national level.

The Iranian Parliament has launched an investigation and this Friday its top official, Hamid Kazemi, has called on the girls to take care of themselves.