Ejei on Plasco Incident: Two Arrested, No Officials Summoned

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesperson for the judiciary, on Sunday, February 12, commented on the case formed for identifying the potential culprits of the Plasco commercial complex incident, stating: "Part of the issue began with the prosecutor's opinion, and two individuals have been arrested in this regard." According to ISNA news agency, Ejei added regarding these two individuals: "They are those who were initially identified as having charges related to the start of the fire." The judicial official mentioned that "a committee of various experts has been formed to investigate other causes or factors that led to the fire or contributed to the spread of the fire or the collapse of the building." He added that "we have not summoned any responsible individuals as suspects in this incident, and we must wait for the report from this committee." According to the state-run IRNA news agency, the spokesperson explained the reason for not summoning officials: "If there are issues related to an organization, the committee will provide us with a report, but until the report is submitted, no one will be summoned as a suspect." The famous Plasco building in Tehran, which was a major clothing wholesale center, caught fire on January 19 and collapsed after several hours. At least 16 firefighters and four citizens from the merchants and owners of the Plasco commercial complex were killed, and several others went missing. The ownership of the Plasco building, established before the Islamic Revolution by Habibollah Alqaniyan, a Jewish businessman and entrepreneur, was transferred to the Foundation of the Oppressed after its establishment. Habibollah Alqaniyan himself was executed. The weakness of the safety and firefighting systems of this building has been cited as one of the main reasons for the fire and its collapse, although the Foundation of the Oppressed and the veterans have so far refrained from apologizing for it; Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, has also stated that "I will not apologize for Plasco." Peyrooz Hanachi, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture of Iran, warned last Wednesday that data from a recent report indicates that "there are 256 towers in Tehran for which there is no information available at the Tehran municipality, and if an incident similar to the Plasco incident occurs in one of them for any reason, it will turn into a disaster in Tehran." According to him, these "256 towers are generally located in northern Tehran and in narrow streets, making it very difficult to provide assistance to them with the existing facilities." In this regard, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesperson, continued in his press conference on Sunday regarding some buildings that pose serious risks, stating: "The judiciary can issue warnings, and if there is a serious risk, it can take action." He added: "In this case, the municipality and the Ministry of Labor are responsible, and if the judiciary is aware of a serious risk, it will alert the relevant agencies and in some cases take practical action, and in cases where the Ministry of Labor and the municipality need the judiciary's presence, we are ready to cooperate and provide necessary assistance."