イラン学校での毒物事件、容疑者初逮捕　被害者５０００人超に

【テヘラン（イラン）ＡＦＰ＝時事】イラン各地の学校で１１月下旬以降、女子生徒５０００人以上が中毒症状を訴えている事件で、当局は７日、初めて容疑者を逮捕したと発表した。（写真はイランの最高指導者アリ・ハメネイ師。資料写真）
　イラン内務省によると六つの州で、有害物質の製造が疑われる容疑者が多数拘束された。
　一連の毒物混入事件では、校内で「不快な」臭いがするとの報告があり、生徒は息切れ、吐き気、めまいなどの症状を呈した。
　議会調査委員会のメンバーがイラン学生通信に語ったところによると、これまでに全国３１州のうち２５州で約２３０校が被害を受け、女子生徒を中心に５０００人以上が中毒症状を訴えた。今のところ、使用された毒物に関する具体的な情報は明らかになっていない。
　容疑者の１人は生徒の親で、自分の子どもに「刺激物」を持ち込ませ、中毒を起こした生徒らを動画で撮影させて「敵対的メディア」に送付したという。「恐怖を生み出し、学校を閉鎖させる」のが目的だったとされる。
　また別の３人の容疑者は「最近の暴動への関与を含む」前科があるという。イラン当局がいう「最近の暴動」とは、服装規定違反の疑いで逮捕されたクルド系女性マフサ・アミニさん（２２）が道徳警察の拘束下で死亡した問題をきっかけに起きた抗議デモを指す。
　学校での中毒事件はこの抗議行動の約１か月後、首都テヘラン南方の聖都コムの複数の学校で女子生徒を標的に起きた。
　最新の事件では、南東部シスタン・バルチスタン州ザヘダンで、女子生徒４０人が被害に遭っている。
　イブラヒム・ライシ大統領は先週、毒物事件は国民の間に「恐怖と絶望を作り出す敵の陰謀」だと主張し、内務省と情報省に最新情報の継続的な報告を命じた。
　内務省によると、病院に搬送された生徒のうち５％弱で刺激物が検出された。
　保健省次官のサイード・カリミ氏は症状として「呼吸器障害、胃痛、衰弱、倦怠（けんたい）感」などを挙げている。「吸い込んだ刺激物は必ずしも気体ではなく、粉末やペースト、あるいは液体の可能性もある。ヒーターの上に注いだり、加熱して（水分を）蒸発させたりすると合併症を引き起こす可能性がある」という。
　法関連サイトによると、テヘランの検察官アリ・サレヒ氏は、毒物混入事件に関し「うそやうわさを広める者」もいるとし、「断固法的に対処する」と警告した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/09-15:59）

Iran announced Tuesday it had made the first arrests in a spate of mystery poisonings of schoolgirls that has affected more than 5,000 pupils since late November.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had called Monday for the perpetrators of the unforgivable crime to be tracked down without mercy as public anger mounts.
The interior ministry said in a statement on Tuesday a number of people suspected of manufacturing hazardous substances had been arrested in six provinces, including a pupil's parent.
Iran's deputy interior minister, Majid Mirahmadi, told state television earlier on Tuesday that the intelligence agencies had made several arrests, and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation.
Scores of Iranian schools have been hit by poisonings since late November, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting unpleasant odours on school premises. Some have been treated in hospital.
Twenty-five (out of 31) provinces and approximately 230 schools have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned, Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, told the ISNA news agency on Monday.
Various tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific information has been obtained regarding the type of poison used.
The mystery poisonings have triggered a wave of anger and demands for action from the authorities.
According to the interior ministry statement, arrests had been made in Khuzestan, West Azerbaijan, Fars, Kermanshah, Khorasan and Alborz provinces.
One of those arrested had allegedly used their child to insert the irritant into the school, and then recorded videos of sick students which were sent to hostile media to create fear... and close schools, the statement said.
It added three suspects have criminal records including involvement in the recent riots, a term used by the Iranian authorities to describe the protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in custody.
Amini, 22, had been arrested over an alleged violation of strict dress rules for women and died on September 16.
- 'Fear and despair' -
President Ebrahim Raisi tasked the interior and intelligence ministries last week with providing continuous updates on the poisoning cases, dubbing them the enemy's conspiracy to create fear and despair among the people.
In less than five percent of the students transferred to hospital, irritant materials were found which led to their ill-health, the interior ministry said on Monday.
Fortunately, so far, no toxic or dangerous substances have been found in any of the students transferred to medical centres.
Deputy health minister Saeed Karimi said symptoms included respiratory irritation, stomach ache, weakness and lethargy.
These inhaled irritants may not necessarily be a gas but may be in the form of a powder or paste or even a liquid, which when poured over a heater or vaporised by heat can cause complications, he added.
The latest case -- reported by the ISNA news agency -- involved 40 pupils, all of them female, in the restive southeastern city of Zahedan on Tuesday.
The White House called Monday for a credible independent investigation into the poisonings.
The first cases were reported in Iran's Shiite clerical capital of Qom in late November, a month after the Amini protests that later spread to universities and schools.
On Tuesday, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi warned those who spread lies and rumours about the poisonings that they will be dealt with decisively and legally, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.
In the past week, court cases and charges have been filed against the managers of the Hammihan, Rouydad 24 and Shargh media, as well as several individuals, Salehi added.