Deputy Prosecutor of Qom Reports Arrest of 'Disseminators' of Clinic Video

According to Iranian media, the Deputy Prosecutor of Qom announced that "so far, 4 of the main individuals involved in disseminating and sending" the video of the clinic incident in Qom to Iran International network have been identified and arrested. This judicial official claimed: "It became clear to us that a design and planning had been made to create discord and sedition in society." With this action, the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic has once again shown that for Iranian officials, concealing events and incidents is a higher priority than addressing violent acts by government affiliates against citizens. In the incident involving the release of a video showing a woman confronting a cleric in a clinic in Qom, the primary concern of the Islamic Republic officials was to find those who published the video. Muslem Khani, the Deputy Prosecutor of Qom, also claimed today that "the arrested individuals confessed that they coordinated to send the video to foreign networks and intended to create discord in society." It is likely that a new campaign will soon be launched by media affiliated with the security institutions of the Islamic Republic based on these "confessions" to emphasize that what happened in that clinic in Qom was a "pre-planned scheme" carried out by "hostile media." The release of a video showing a cleric secretly filming a young woman without mandatory hijab holding her newborn in a medical center in Qom has caused significant controversy in recent days. In this context, some government media, including the Kayhan newspaper, have called for action against the protesting woman. The Kayhan newspaper, affiliated with Ali Khamenei, wrote in its March 13 issue that "the sending of this video of physical assault and argument with that cleric to the Zionist International network and its publication in this terrorist media on Saturday was a continuation of the internal agenda of America and the Zionist regime to vent their frustrations against the clergy." Kayhan also emphasized that "opponents of the Islamic Revolution and Israeli assets in Iran, through their numerous virtual media and newspapers, continued to amplify the attack by the woman on that cleric in obedience to the Zionist regime." The writer of this newspaper, which is funded by public resources, believes that "it is highly likely that this project, coinciding with the days known as International Women's Day (March 8) and executed through the media network of the Zionists, was designed firstly to create costs for recent legal pursuits regarding chastity and hijab, and secondly to prepare the ground for increasing anger and hatred in society and creating conflict among people, leading to renewed chaos." The conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan, affiliated with Azad University, also addressed this issue and stated that it is expected that "officials, instead of making statements that only anger public opinion and exacerbate the existing divide among them, should act to inform about the reality of the incident and what happened in the clinic, and instead of siding with individuals, leave the precise investigation of the matter to the judicial authorities." The writer of Farhikhtegan believes that "the mistakes of what happened last year should not be repeated, and society should not be pushed towards agitation." This newspaper's reference is to the incident of Mahsa Amini's death in custody of the Guidance Patrol and the subsequent nationwide protests known as "Women, Life, Freedom." The editor-in-chief of the newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, also appointed by Ali Khamenei, wrote in today's editorial that "the Qom seminary, as a whole, is a rational, logical, and ethical environment, but unfortunately, there are exceptional groups within it that, although they are in the minority, have a noisy record." Masih Mohajeri emphasized that these individuals "damage the credibility and reputation of the clergy with this record. They do not know or do not want to know that the laws of God's religion cannot be enforced through force." Additionally, reactions to the release of a video showing a cleric secretly filming a young woman without mandatory hijab holding her newborn have sparked a new wave on social media, with the hashtag "We are Saliṭeh" gaining traction in support of this mother. The incident of a cleric filming a mother while she was caring for her newborn and creating disturbance, which was met with protests from the woman and other individuals present in the clinic, is becoming a social crisis; an occurrence that happens in another clinic in a different city within 48 hours, and government media are seeking to attribute them to foreign agents and confront protesting citizens. Widespread reactions to the hashtag "We are Saliṭeh"; activists tell VOA: A Saliṭeh woman means one who cannot be dominated. Reactions to the secret filming by a cleric; Gohar Eshghi: Clerics should fix their corrupt minds. The uproar of a cleric in a medical center; the Prosecutor of Qom: A legal case has been filed.