In September 2022, the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in police custody after she was detained by ethics police for “improperly wearing a headscarf”, caused Widespread protests across Iran. Authorities claimed Amini died of a heart attack while in custody, while her family said she was beaten. Protests over her death quickly turned into greater dissatisfaction with the regime.
In the six months since, Iran’s security forces have frequently used draconian tactics to try to suppress protests, going so far as to arrest children. In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty International found that children arrested during and after the protests were electrocuted, submerged in water, sexually assaulted and sexually assaulted. threatened with rape. According to the human rights group, many children are only released after they sign letters of “repentance” and promise not to participate in the protests again. The Iranian government did not respond to the report and did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment.
A mysterious wave of suspected poisoning across the country has also resulted in more than 1,000 schoolgirls being hospitalized. Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is leading the investigation into the poisoning reports, said in early March that 90% of hospital admissions were caused by “stress and anxiety caused by the news.” Many Iranians have rejected that explanation, calling Vahidi’s statement “ridiculous” and criticizing the regime for not acting on the reports despite widespread public scrutiny.
In a press release on Thursday, the United Nations called the poisoning “intentional” and condemned the government for failing to protect the girls and quickly investigate the incident.
“There is a stark contrast between the rapid deployment of force to arrest and imprison peaceful protesters and the months-long inability to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the attacks.” large-scale coordinated work targeting young girls in Iran,” UN experts said.
