Parents of 15 Students File Complaint in Connection with 'Sexual Abuse' Case at Moein High School in Tehran

In response to the 'sexual abuse' of several students at Moein High School in Tehran, the head of Tehran's judiciary announced that the parents of 15 students have filed complaints, but the number of complainants may increase next week. According to Tasnim News Agency, on Friday, June 1, Mohsen Esmaeili reported that 15 parents of students who were subjected to 'sexual abuse' have filed complaints, and new individuals may also come forward next week. He also stated that the numbers reported in the media regarding the number of complainants are 'not currently relevant to the case.' Some media outlets had previously reported that 17 students from this high school had undergone psychological evaluations, with 16 of them having experienced 'assault.' Other media reported the existence of 40 complainants in this case. On Tuesday, several Iranian media outlets, including Khabar Online, reported that one of the officials at a boys' middle school in a private educational complex in Tehran's District 2 was arrested following the 'sexual abuse' of a group of students. The principal of this high school has also been suspended for two years. Based on videos published on some news sites, several parents have accused the principal of 'delaying' in addressing the issue. One parent of a teenager stated, 'The school principal claims he was unaware, while we believe he is lying because at that time, the cameras in those classrooms were turned off.' Several parliamentary commissions, including the Education Commission and Article 90 Commission, have announced that they will discuss this issue in a meeting with the Minister of Education. Parvaneh Mafi, a representative from Tehran, has also reported that she will pose a question to the Minister of Education regarding this matter, and the Minister must appear in Parliament to respond. However, Mohammad Javad Abtahi, a representative from Khomeini Shahr, stated that questioning the Minister on this matter is 'not defensible' as it could send 'more negative signals to the public psyche, and by opening the issue, the reputation of educators and families will be further affected.' Reports of 'sexual abuse' of several students at Moein High School have once again raised the issue of educating children to prevent sexual abuse, a topic that some extremist religious groups in Iran oppose. While some government officials and members of Parliament argue that part of the training in UNESCO's 2030 document is 'aimed at preventing assault and protecting individuals' privacy,' the implementation of this document was halted last year following protests from the Supreme Leader and his associates. Meanwhile, some members of the Stability Front in Parliament, including Ahmad Salek and Hossein Ali Hajideligani, have claimed in their remarks that this incident is one of the 'results of implementing the 2030 document.' The Supreme Leader has instructed the head of the judiciary to expedite the trial of the accused in this case and to enforce 'divine limits' against them. Some analysts believe that the purpose of this directive is to 'obscure the role of Ayatollah Khamenei's office' in issuing a 'clearing' verdict for Saeed Toosi. Complainants in the Saeed Toosi case, a famous Quran reciter, had previously spoken about the role of Ali Moghadam, the head of communications for the Supreme Leader's office, in issuing the 'clearing' verdict for Mr. Toosi. Reports of sexual abuse of students by teachers have been previously published. For instance, in June 2015, the principal of a school in Tehran was sentenced to flogging, two years of suspension from educational and cultural activities, and two years of exile after parents of several students complained about child abuse. A year prior, a physical education teacher at a school in southern Tehran was arrested following complaints from 14 students regarding child abuse and 'sexual abuse' of students. In addition to the issue of sexual abuse of children in schools, several murder and sexual abuse cases have also made headlines in recent years, including the cases of Neda, a six-year-old girl in Mashhad, Atena Aslani in Parsabad, Ahura, a three-year-old child in Rasht, and Setayesh Gharishi, a six-year-old Afghan girl in Varamin.