On Sunday, April 9, multiple schools in Iran were targeted by chemical attacks, resulting in the hospitalization of dozens of students.
Six girls’ schools in Saqqez, including Meraj, Taleghani, and Somayyeh, were affected, with at least 47 students being taken to the hospital. Tragically, twenty of them are reported to be in severe condition.
The attacks have sparked outrage and protests in Saqqez, with students and their families taking to the streets to demand justice. They lit fires and chanted “Death to Khamenei” in a display of anger towards the Iranian regime’s handling of the situation. In response, State Security Force’s special units were deployed in the streets and opened fire on people in the Shahnaz district.
Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Jamaran girls’ schools in Sanandaj and Esmat girls’ schools in Zarrineh, both in Kurdistan province, were also targeted by chemical attacks, poisoning the students. In Maragheh, East Azerbaijan province, 30 students of Qudsiyeh school in Varjoy village were taken to the hospital for similar reasons.
Moreover, the attacks have claimed more lives. Karou Pashabadi, a 16-year-old boy from Kamyaran in Kermanshah Province, died on Friday, April 7, 2023, after being hospitalized for three weeks due to a chemical attack on his school in Tehran. He had been taken to Milad Hospital for treatment on March 15, 2023, after inhaling poisonous gas.
These attacks on innocent schoolchildren are heinous and unacceptable. Despite five months that have passed since the start of chemical attacks on girls’ schools, the clerical regime’s officials are making conflicting statements and attempting to justify, cover up, and downplay the chemical attacks on girls’ schools throughout the country.
Earlier, Yahya Ebrahimi told the mullahs’ parliament about covering up this heinous crime. He admitted, “We were not honest with our people regarding the poisonings. We concealed them. 245 schools in 26 provinces were affected. This is happening only in girls’ schools. Therefore, they have a specific target, and they are pursuing a specific goal by doing this.”
Saeed Karimi, the Deputy Minister of Health, reported that 13,000 poisoned students had been referred to medical centers for treatment centers until March 13. (The state-run Mashreq website, March 13, 2023)
