Following reports that thousands of girls in Iran are suspected of being poisoned, the Iranian regime announced today that several people have been arrested in five different provinces.
The events have strengthened the popular anger against women’s oppression that has already shaken the country for a number of months. The poisonings appear to be targeting schoolgirls in particular, and have been interpreted by many as a hard-line religious revenge campaign following calls for more freedom and rights for girls and women.
But on Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei came out and demanded that those responsible for these “unforgivable crimes” must be hunted down “without mercy.” And only a day later, the government presents the arrests.
– A number of people have been arrested in five provinces, and the relevant authorities are investigating this fully, says Majid Mirahmadi, a high-ranking official at the Ministry of the Interior, on state television.
But Terese Cristianson, TV4 Nyheternas’ Middle East correspondent, believes that one should be careful with the information.
– There is no transparency whatsoever in this type of investigation in Iran, and the regime does not have much confidence either.
Hear TV4 Nyheterna’s Middle East correspondent Terese Cristianson in the player above.