Friday Prayer Leader of Khomeini Shahr: The News of the Child's Stitches Being Cut Was Political

Abbas Rahimi, the Friday prayer leader of Khomeini Shahr in Isfahan, called for action against those responsible for spreading the news of misconduct by the medical staff at the 'Ashrafi Isfahani' hospital regarding the cutting of a child's chin stitches, stating that no one has the 'right to publish negative news' about this county. In his Friday sermon on December 13, he said this incident could have been 'easily contained within the county' and that those who politicized the matter should be held accountable. On December 7, the newspaper 'Isfahan Ziba' reported that part of the medical staff at 'Ashrafi Isfahani' hospital in Khomeini Shahr had stitched a child's chin, but after the family was unable to pay for the treatment, they proceeded to cut the stitches. Following the broadcast of this news on provincial television, the Minister of Health pursued the case, and the file of the doctor, nurse, and supervisor involved was sent to the judiciary. Despite the Isfahan judiciary announcing the issuance of an indictment for three defendants in this case, the Friday prayer leader claimed that individuals with specific agendas 'exaggerated this issue.' He referred to the misconduct of the hospital staff as 'a minor mistake' while simultaneously calling for harsher punishment, suggesting that they may have wanted to undermine good government initiatives like the universal health plan. Rahimi continued that 'until this news was published, it was a minor violation, but now that it has been spread with a thousand lies and plots, it has become a political and anti-system issue and requires a more serious response.' He criticized the state television for broadcasting this news, stating, 'When I heard that all our state television networks were airing the news, I was furious... Why do you highlight the negatives but not the positives?' He demanded that the Iranian state television 'make amends' and 'bring attention to all the good works in the county.' Rahimi explicitly warned that 'no one has the right to publish negative news from the county anymore, as foreign hands are at work. If they do, they should be exposed to the public.' He considered the publication of this news as damaging to 'the reputation of the Islamic system and national officials' and added that 'the main perpetrators should be held accountable, but what is happening behind the scenes? They must be identified.' A group of clerics and military officials in Iran have repeatedly warned against the public dissemination of shortcomings or problems within government organizations and institutions, and actions have been taken against those who have published such news. Before the statements of the Friday prayer leader of Khomeini Shahr, Rasool Bani Hashemi, the head of the Medical System Organization of Khomeini Shahr, also stated that the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences should have handed the matter over to the Khomeini Shahr Medical System and not intervened. After the widespread publication of this misconduct in Iran, the offending doctor from the 'Ashrafi Isfahani' hospital claimed that he had jokingly asked the nurse to cut the stitches of the four-year-old child's chin, while the responsible nurse stated that the stitches were opened elsewhere. A few days later, Youssef Karimi, the deputy prosecutor of Khomeini Shahr, announced that this doctor and nurse had been found guilty of 'failure to perform their duties' and faced imprisonment of six months to three years according to the law. The ISNA news agency also reported the dismissal of the management staff and the head of the Ashrafi Isfahani hospital in Khomeini Shahr due to misconduct and the introduction of a new supervisor for the hospital.