Continuation of Student Suicides

The newspaper Jahan San'at has reported on its front page about the "arrest of the self-appointed commander" of the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, quoting Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the 9th Parliament, who identified the "commander" of this attack as "Hasan Kordmihan." This newspaper describes "Hasan Kordmihan" as someone who "has his own movements and is the mastermind behind the attack on the Saudi embassy" and writes: "Hasan Kordmihan was well-known in Karaj a few years ago" and has organized the Heyat al-Reza group of Ansar Hezbollah in Karaj, but "over time his fame spread beyond the city, and he also established a group behind the southern terminal in the Khazaneh Bakharaei neighborhood to attract Tehran's youth." Jahan San'at emphasizes that Hasan Kordmihan "both recites elegies and is a preacher, and of course, a man of action," stating that in the 2013 elections, "when the officials of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's campaign in Karaj could not win his satisfaction, he rolled up his sleeves and organized systematic campaign headquarters for the general, which were more successful and enthusiastic than the main headquarters of the mayor of Tehran." The newspaper notes that "this famous preacher has extensive cultural activities supported financially by some organizations and institutions" and alongside religious groups, "has put numerous other programs on the agenda to attract more youth to his unique thoughts." It recalls that the incident involving six Karaj students who drowned in the Caspian Sea was also linked to "one of the institutions close to Hasan Kordmihan" and "brought his name more into the media," but what has made Kordmihan more famous in the media is his leadership role in the attack on the Saudi embassy, as he was the only one who not only did not condemn this incident but justified it, saying: 'What is an embassy? A bunch of people here are laughing at our dignity. They should be thrown out with disrespect. The government does nothing. A bunch of youths are showing their honor. You cannot stop this revolutionary fervor.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, however, in its Tuesday issue, without naming Hasan Kordmihan, quoted Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesman for the judiciary, stating: 'He is a student expelled from the northern provinces and an active element of the Office for Consolidating Unity at that time who was expelled from university and later studied some religious courses non-residentially,' and is among those who were 'involved in the attack on the Saudi embassy, and some individuals followed him into the scene.' This newspaper quoted Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje'i as saying: 'The motivation behind his involvement and his connections are under investigation, and judicial and intelligence officials are currently investigating the detainees.' According to Javan, the spokesman for the judiciary also stated: 'The detainees are divided into two groups; one group did not have anti-revolutionary and criminal motives and did not enter the embassy and did not engage in destructive and provocative actions,' but 'others are suspected of having entered with the motive of arson and illegal actions, and it is possible that the enemy has infiltrated among them, which is being investigated.' The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported on the 'threat to Mohammad Reza Aref of disqualification' and wrote: 'On Sunday, in part of the media empire of the hardliners, the issue of reviewing Mohammad Reza Aref's qualifications was raised, and the Guardian Council was requested to disqualify him.' This newspaper also reported on 'the hardliners' psychological operations to disqualify the young Khomeini' and noted that the news of Hassan Khomeini's disqualification was published, stating: 'It seems that the aim of this action was to create a psychological atmosphere against Seyyed Hassan Khomeini in society.' The newspaper Iran, close to the government, reported on the beginning of the Islamic Republic President's trip to Italy, the Vatican, and France, describing it as 'Rouhani's historic trip to Rome and Paris.' This newspaper reminded that the last official trip of the Iranian President to Europe was related to Mohammad Khatami's official visit to Austria, and after that, two trips by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the 9th and 10th administrations to Italy and Switzerland were not by invitation from these countries but to participate in two international conferences. The newspaper Iran announced that the number of companions of Hassan Rouhani on the European trip includes a 120-member business delegation and six ministers, stating: 'Now, Tehran in a new era and in the post-resolution of the nuclear challenge has set the revival of political and economic relations with important European countries, including Italy and France, among its important goals, especially the renewal of relations with countries that were among Iran's important economic partners before the start of anti-Iranian economic sanctions.' Soheila Jaloudarzadeh, one of the few candidates approved close to the reformists, introduced herself as the originator of the term 'reformism' in an interview with the newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh, stating: 'Now, instead of being a reformist, one must be a reformer.' The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh also raised the question, 'Is a government decree a solution for disqualifications?' and published statements from several political figures about the possibility of a government decree from the Supreme Leader to approve the qualifications of some candidates. The newspaper also quoted Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahallati emphasizing the commitment of the eleventh government to its electoral promises, stating that Hassan Rouhani 'wants to hold a lively and enthusiastic election' and for this reason, 'consultations have been held several times with the elders in Qom and Tehran, and based on the consultations, we hope to see more individuals approved by mid-February.' The newspaper Etemad focused on the ongoing issue of student suicides, stating: 'A 13-year-old boy who left class on Saturday went to the school restroom and hanged himself, bringing the number of students who decided to end their short lives in 2015 to 13. Thirteen individuals whom neither the school benches nor the embrace of their families could dissuade from their hidden decision.' Hamid Reza Kafash, the cultural and educational deputy of the Ministry of Education, however, in response to these suicides emphasized that 'despite these incidents, school is still the safest place for students' and told Etemad: 'The statistics of student suicides in Iran still have a significant distance from the global average.' The educational deputy criticized the publication of news about student incidents, including news related to student suicides, stating: 'These news do not yield anything for families who do not understand pathology other than creating anxiety and fear,' and these incidents should be examined in specialized and pathological sessions, 'but the fact that numbers are given, how much growth there has been, and these should be headlines, I believe that instead of identifying the causes, they create fear.' Ali Zarafshan, the deputy of secondary education at the Ministry of Education, however, in a different reaction to Etemad stated: 'The number of teenage suicides in 2015 has reached a significant number; in some cases, families say that they cannot believe such an act from their child who seemed to have no problems. This is a warning bell for everyone, a warning bell for the people and officials to prevent the number of these cases from increasing.' The newspaper Shargh published a report on 'the approval of the details of the political crime bill in Parliament,' stating: without clarifying the meanings of 'the intention to reform' and 'the intention to harm,' the details of the political crime bill were approved. According to this newspaper, the six-article political crime bill was reviewed and approved in the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday, a bill that 'according to some jurists, its first article is so interpretable that it can exclude many political crimes from the scope of this law.' Shargh noted that in the first article of this bill it states: 'Any of the crimes specified in the second article of this law, if committed with the intention of reforming the affairs of the country against the management and political institutions or the domestic or foreign policies of the country, shall be considered a political crime, provided that the perpetrator does not intend to harm the essence of the system.' The newspaper Arman also quoted Mohammad Reza Khatami as saying: 'You cannot stop the truth with restrictions.' 'The return of foreign oil tankers' is the subject of a report in the newspaper Iran. This newspaper wrote: 'A Japanese oil tanker is set to load oil shipments at the Kharg oil terminal on Tuesday this week as the first foreign tanker after the lifting of sanctions.'