3-Year-Old Setayesh, A New Victim of Child Abuse

The headline "Endless Wounds of Setayesh" is a report in the newspaper Shahrvand accompanied by a photo of a three-year-old child from Rafsanjan who has been severely abused by her mother and stepfather, with visible signs of repeated burns on her body. The newspaper notes that "Setayesh is only 2 years and 10 months old, and she must feel pain and suffering with all her being, both in her soul and body; anyone who sees her can tell at a glance that this innocent child has been tortured." It reports that the child's mother and stepfather, who are addicts, have burned her with cigarette fire, and that she has been transferred to Ali Ibn Abi Talib Hospital in Rafsanjan by social emergency services. The Shahrvand newspaper quotes the governor of Rafsanjan as saying that judicial action will be taken against the child's parents and that an arrest warrant has been issued for them, stating that "the child's mother has been arrested" and her stepfather is also being pursued. Lawyer Hossein Ahmadi Niaz commented on the possible punishments for the child's parents, stating that "two years in prison is the heaviest sentence a judge can impose on these two, but the problem of child abuse will not be solved with such punishments" and that "as long as addressing child abuse does not become a public demand, this ugly and disturbing crime will continue to occur in our country, many cases of which remain hidden from the media." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, in its front-page headline on Tuesday quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying, "Negotiation with the world was taught to us by Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini)," and if it weren't for the former leader of the Islamic Republic, "would we have today revolutionary and Islamic art, cinema, and religious music?" According to this newspaper, Rouhani made these remarks during the second day of his visit to Markazi province and during a speech in "Khomein," even stating that "some in that era said women do not have the right to participate in protest demonstrations, should not go to the polls, were not created to study at universities, and should only engage in traditional life, homemaking, and child-rearing," but it was Imam Khomeini who "established the high status of women within the framework of Islamic law, prophetic tradition, and the path of the Imams of Islam." Simultaneously, Abdollah Ganjii, the managing editor of the newspaper Javan, harshly criticized Hassan Rouhani in an editorial titled "What Happened to That 'Group'?" stating, "The President speaks as if 'if it weren't for the Imam' there existed an independent identity outside the Imam and the revolution's shell, and the Imam has removed them from the seat of power." The editorial writer of this newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, accused Rouhani along with Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Khomeini, and some other clerics of pursuing a "line" to undermine a faction of the revolution's forces, including "one of the first-class scholars," and wrote: "The line that Mr. Rouhani follows is continuously used by individuals such as Ayatollah Hashemi, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, Mohajerani, etc., but they never have the courage to introduce their intentions." The newspaper Javan emphasized that "this group is trying to take the present back in time to marginalize parts of the revolutionary forces and see their place more open," stating: "Without hesitation, it must be said that all the efforts of this group are against one of the first-class scholars of the revolution. Does this individual oppose women's votes? Does he not believe in the Islamic Republic? Can such an inference be drawn from his actions? In which election has he not voted? He himself becomes a candidate and even does not get elected, but he complies maximally. His students form a political organization, compete, lose, and win." The managing editor of the newspaper Javan implicitly and without naming Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi introduced him as one of the "group" referred to in Rouhani's remarks, writing: "I personally asked him: What is the relationship between popular sovereignty and the rule of the jurist? He replied: 'The realization of the rule of the jurist depends on the will of the people, and as long as the people do not want it, the government of the rule of the jurist will not take shape in the present era.'" The newspaper emphasized that the production of a "phantom group" in Rouhani's remarks is "merely political fodder and the raw material for polarization," stating that "no faction accompanying Ayatollah Khomeini after the revolution stood against him except for a few individuals like (Hossein Ali) Montazeri," and "therefore, fabricating a group against the Imam by those who today consider the elimination of the identity of Imam's revolution a condition for the country's development is a contradiction to their current actions and behavior." The editorial writer of the newspaper Javan also wrote that "we humbly ask the esteemed President not to lead those who have stable thoughts and behaviors in line with the Imam to slaughter." Meanwhile, the newspaper Kayhan, in its front-page headline, published a report about an "8000 billion tomans corruption" in the Cultural Fund of Teachers, stating: "The silence of officials and the godfathers of reformists raises suspicions of their involvement in this massive corruption." This newspaper also wrote about the President of the eleventh government, stating: "Hassan Rouhani said in 2013 during the election campaign: I will form a government of honest and truthful people." The newspaper Iran, however, quoted Mohammad Bat'hai, the caretaker of the Ministry of Education, as saying: "The judicial authority is seriously and carefully pursuing this issue. Anyone who is informed or accused will be summoned and dealt with, and there will be no consideration in this matter," but "unfortunately, the expression of distorted and unreliable information, baseless and unfounded by uninformed individuals with various motives has confused the minds of teachers." This newspaper also referred to a meeting of the Education Commission attended by some officials from the Ministry of Education and the Cultural Fund regarding the 8000 billion tomans embezzlement, quoting Mohammad Sadeghi, the head of the Financial Discipline and Transparency faction in Parliament, as saying: "In this meeting, the issue of investigation from the Cultural Fund was raised, most of this misconduct relates to Ahmadinejad's government," and "most of the figures mentioned as economic and financial misconduct by officials were related to the previous government, for example, in one case, the officials of the Cultural Fund announced that in 2013 when they received this fund from the previous officials, this fund had 4000 billion tomans of uncollectible assets during the period from 2007 to 2013." A member of the board of directors of the Hope faction in Parliament stated: "This 4000 billion tomans was the assets of the Cultural Fund that were uncollected, and according to the follow-ups, 3200 billion tomans of this amount was related to loans given to three individuals who have never returned these loans," although "according to reports from the Ministry of Education officials, misconduct has also occurred in the new period, but most of the misconduct relates to the previous government." The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the prison organization, dedicated its front-page photo and headline to Sadegh Larijani and his statements against the media and journalists, quoting the head of the judiciary as saying: "Cooperating with hostile media is complicity in crime." According to this newspaper, Sadegh Larijani stated: "There is no doubt about the enmity and hostility of some media outside the country, but those who assist these media from inside the country should be prosecuted as accomplices in crime to clarify the line between the revolution and anti-revolution. Unfortunately, some individuals inside conduct interviews with these media and somehow assist them while also being demanding." The newspaper Etemad highlighted "Ali Jannati's grievances" during his farewell ceremony from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, quoting him as saying: "At the concert in Qom, all women adhered to hijab except for four." He also stated, "Should we shut down mourning ceremonies because some do not have proper hijab?" This newspaper wrote, "Ultimately, the bell of separation for Ali Jannati from the ministry has rung. During his three years and more in the ministry, he did not have a pleasant time and faced obstacles daily; in this rocky path, he could not achieve what he wanted and ultimately decided to give up the ministry." Etemad noted that on Tuesday morning, Jannati's deputies along with some members of the Ministry of Culture gathered in a cinema hall of the ministry to bid farewell to the resigning minister. Jannati, in his farewell session, directed sharp criticism towards the Friday prayer leaders who placed many stones in his path. The newspaper Shargh also titled its front page "The Unsuccessful Minister," reporting that Jannati recalled during his farewell that at the beginning of his ministry, he met with artists who "declared that they had not set foot in the ministry for four to eight years," stating: "I tried from day one to say forget the past, and like during Mr. (Mohammad) Khatami and (Ahmad) Masjid Jami's time, who respected the cultural and artistic community, we also intend to respect you, and our effort was to encourage them. We are happy that today, cinema, press, media, and literary figures are working with great hope." This newspaper quoted Ali Jannati as saying: "Sometimes a space was created in the country that no one could breathe in. One day, I traveled to a large province. I was speaking with the representative of the Supreme Leader of the province. He said he was opposed to music; I said, 'You are opposed? You are the representative of the Supreme Leader; however, you must see what the Supreme Leader has ruled. You cannot act separately when you have this title; you cannot say you are completely against music or theater,' while "sometimes a Friday prayer leader gets agitated over a theater without having seen it, but based on reports, he gives his opinion," and "the status of these issues in the country is not clear. We must use cultural and artistic tools in service to the system or not? If it is to be, it must be implemented within the framework of the law." According to Shargh, the resigning Minister of Culture and Guidance referred to the use of dishes and satellites, which are still banned, stating: "Using dishes and satellites is prohibited; however, see how many people we have forced to act against the law. One day, they said, 'Why do you use cyberspace?' But today, see that religious authorities also have their offices on social networks like Telegram and use them; therefore, this is inevitable." The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh reported in a piece titled "The Red Species of Household Livelihood" about "minimum wage earners and livelihood problems in the days of single-digit inflation," stating: "Each Iranian family paid approximately 8 million and 327 thousand and 631 tomans in 2015 for purchasing food and beverages, which amounts to 690 thousand tomans per month, and if this amount is deducted from the 812 thousand tomans minimum wage, only 122 thousand tomans remain for the rest of life, including rent, clothing, transportation, travel, education, entertainment, etc." This newspaper wrote that "living costs during the years when inflation was at its peak experienced a continuous and increasing rise, making conditions harder and harder for minimum wage earners, but in the last three years, due to the declining inflation rate, it has experienced less growth compared to previous years; however, despite the single-digit inflation rate and its downward trend, many consumer items and recreational programs have been removed from the Iranian household's expense basket, and minimal living has replaced everything." Vaghaye Ettefaghieh referred to workers and retirees as the broadest segments of minimum wage earners, stating: "Many minimum wage earners have moved to the outskirts of cities and in the capital, in addition to the outskirts, have moved to southern areas to pay less rent and lower costs for finding a place to live. Consequently, this forced migration and the necessity to allocate costs for securing the essentials of life, which include shelter, food, and clothing, have led to many needs such as travel, recreation, and even education being removed from the household expense basket, limiting life to essentials." Levon Jagarian, the Russian ambassador to Iran, in an interview with the newspaper Etemad, stated: "We share common views with Iran on some regional issues; whether regarding Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, or the current situation in Central Asia. For us, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a friendly country. Mr. Putin's view of Iran is positive. The Supreme Leader and Mr. Rouhani also have a positive view of Russia." The Russian ambassador also stated that "we will inform Iran of the details of negotiations with the US" and that in Syria, "we cooperate with Iran on almost all issues, whether military or political," and "when you (Etemad newspaper) publish this interview, if possible, please publish an editorial in your newspaper stating that anyone who criticizes Russia and Iran in Syria, knowingly or unknowingly, supports terrorists."