One Month Since Acid Attacks in Isfahan; Perpetrators Still Not Arrested

One month after the first news of the chain acid attacks in Isfahan was published, the perpetrator or perpetrators of this act have still not been arrested. Meanwhile, in the past month, at least four people have been detained for publishing news and photos about this incident and protesting against it. According to Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, the commander of the Islamic Republic's police, "318 cases of acid attacks" have occurred since the beginning of this year, most of whose perpetrators have been arrested. ISNA reported on October 16 that on October 14, a young woman was attacked with acid on Mehredad Street in Isfahan. The news agency did not mention the name of this woman, but later the father of Soheila Joraksh, one of the victims of the acid attacks in Isfahan, stated that acid was thrown on his daughter on Wednesday. Initially, varying statistics were presented regarding the number of chain acid attacks, but ultimately, official authorities confirmed four cases of acid attacks. Hossein Hosseinzadeh, the deputy commander of the Isfahan police, stated on the same day the news was published that the police were planning to identify the suspects. Two days later, judicial officials and members of parliament also promised to follow up on these incidents and quickly arrest the suspects. Four days after the first news was published, Morteza Mirbagheri, the deputy minister of the interior for social and cultural affairs, said that "three to four people" had been arrested as suspects in these incidents. Hours later, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, denied the arrest of any individuals related to the acid attacks in Isfahan. Despite this denial, contradictory statements from Islamic Republic officials regarding the arrest of the perpetrators of the acid attacks and the discovery of clues continued, and Ahmad Salek, a representative from Isfahan, stated that "some suspicious individuals" had been arrested in the acid attack incident in Isfahan. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam also stated on November 1 that clues had been obtained regarding the perpetrator of the acid attacks in Isfahan, and it appeared that this act was carried out by "one person." On November 5, Isfahan's governor, Rasoul Zarghampour, announced the "identification of ten suspicious individuals" related to the acid attacks in this province and said that the police were interrogating these individuals. Meanwhile, Avaz Heydarpoor, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, stated on November 14 that the perpetrator of the acid attacks in Isfahan was "only one person" and he was "on the verge of arrest" and would be "arrested soon and easily." However, just two days after Mr. Heydarpoor's statements, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei announced that to clarify the dimensions of this case, it was necessary to wait, and it could not yet be said with certainty that the acid attacks were the work of one person. Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy for Women and Family Affairs under Hassan Rouhani, stated on November 20, however, in a statement different from all previous comments made by Islamic Republic officials, that no clues had been discovered regarding the acid attacks in Isfahan and the investigations had not yielded results. Ms. Molaverdi made her remarks based on reports from the ministers of intelligence, justice, and the interior, which, according to her, had been presented in two previous sessions of the Iranian government. Ultimately, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, the commander of the police, on November 21, in statements differing from his previous remarks, said that "no individual" had been arrested in connection with the acid attacks in Isfahan. He also reminded that since the beginning of this year, "318 cases of acid attacks" have occurred, most of whose perpetrators have been arrested. The hypothesis of the organization of the acid attacks has been firmly rejected by Islamic Republic officials, who emphasized that these acts were carried out by "one person." This is while some members of parliament in their initial statements had described the acid attacks as "organized." Among them, Mohammad Ali Esfahani, a representative from Isfahan and a member of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the parliament, stated on October 19 that the fact that "in some cases criminals commit serial crimes in a short period of time is rooted in gangs and organized networks." Nasser Joraksh, the father of Soheila Joraksh, one of the victims of the acid attacks in Isfahan, also mentioned in an interview with the weekly "Tamashagaran" published on November 3 that in two acid attack incidents, the assailants were two motorcyclists and a white Paykan car was also "somehow responsible for monitoring" them. Despite the lack of arrest of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the chain acid attacks in Isfahan, several journalists and protesters against these incidents have been arrested. According to reports, in gatherings that took place on October 21 and November 3 in protest against the "indifference" of the parliament to the issue of acid attacks in Tehran and Isfahan, several individuals were arrested. Also, Mahdieh Golroo, a member of the Women Citizens' Association, whose image was reflected in the media during the protest against the acid attacks in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, was arrested at her home on the morning of November 4 and remains in custody. Zahra Mohammadi, the editor of ISNA Isfahan, and Sanam Farsi, the social secretary of ISNA, were also arrested on November 5 and released on November 7. Arya Jafari, a photographer and head of the photography department of ISNA in Isfahan, was also arrested on November 2 after publishing photos of the protest against the acid attacks in this city and was released after a week. In the past month, several individuals have also been arrested for "spreading rumors" about the acid attacks and threatening individuals with acid attacks. Among them, Ali Mozaffari, the head of the judiciary in Razavi Khorasan Province, stated on November 16 that several "rumor spreaders of acid attacks" had been arrested in Mashhad. Hossein Sajjadi Nia, the head of Tehran police, also announced on November 4 the arrest of an individual who, according to him, had threatened several educational institutions in western Tehran with acid attacks via public telephone booths. From the first days of the news of the acid attacks in Isfahan, the connection of these incidents with hijab and "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice" was raised. ISNA in its first report on October 16 wrote: This incident occurred shortly after posts with "the content of acid attacks on unveiled women in Isfahan" circulated on social media. An informed source in Isfahan on the same day told Radio Farda that being young, poorly veiled, and beautiful were common characteristics of women who had recently been targeted in this city with acid. Some citizens of Isfahan also reported receiving warning messages about acid attacks if they did not comply with hijab. "Hanieh," one of the girls from Isfahan, in a report published by ISNA on October 27, said that she received a warning from an anonymous number that if she did not observe her hijab, she would be attacked with acid. On the same day, Mohammad Reza Khabaz, who represented the government in opposing the "Support for Promoters of Virtue" bill, confirmed the connection of the acid attacks in Isfahan with "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice." He stated that "we do not endorse bad hijab, but such deterrent behavior also causes the individual to be deprived of benefit." Abbasali Mansouri Arani, a member of the National Security Commission of the parliament, stated on October 27 that "this is exactly like the actions that ISIS is trying to implement in Iraq and Syria and aims to create a violent image of Islam through unlawful acts." Mohammad Taqi Rahbar, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Isfahan, also denied the statements attributed to him that "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice should go beyond verbal admonition" and said, "I did not say that admonition should go beyond verbal." However, after a few days, Islamic Republic officials emphasized that these acid attacks had no connection to hijab and "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice." Some officials also severely criticized the media that had linked these two issues. In this context, the Deputy President stated that the follow-up on the acid attacks has not yielded results. The acid attack case and distrust in government institutions in Iran. Ahmadi Moghaddam: Since the beginning of this year, 318 cases of acid attacks have occurred. The Deputy Minister of Interior of Iran: Details of the acid attacks will be announced soon. The National Security Commission of the Parliament: The acid attacks had personal motives.