Parliament's Involvement in Student Sexual Assault Case; 'Possibility' of School Closure

One day after the Tehran prosecutor announced the 'temporary detention' of the accused in the sexual assault case involving students in western Tehran, parliament representatives reported that two committees of this institution are entering the case. On Thursday, June 10, the Tasnim news agency quoted a member of the Education Committee of Parliament about the 'dissolution' of a high school located in western Tehran, where the principal is accused of 'sexual harassment' of students. Last Tuesday, several media outlets in Iran, including the Khabaronline website, reported that an official at a boys' high school in a non-profit educational complex in Tehran's second district was arrested following the sexual assault of a group of students. Following the publication of this news, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, stated that the parents of 15 students have filed complaints that this individual has 'sexually assaulted' their children. According to the Jamaran news website, Mr. Dolatabadi said on Wednesday, June 9, that the statements of the students' guardians need to be 'investigated.' Nevertheless, this judicial official added: 'However, today further investigations were conducted, which resulted in the accused's status being changed to temporary detention.' The accused has been in custody for several days, and the Tehran prosecutor did not provide further explanation regarding his change of status to 'temporary detention.' It seems that following the remarks of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding this case, its examination has accelerated. After reports of 'sexual harassment' of students by the principal of a private school in the second district of Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a swift trial of the accused and the implementation of 'divine limits' against them. The 'divine limits' of Shia jurisprudence referred to by Mr. Khamenei, which entered Iranian laws after the 1979 revolution, prescribes execution for sodomy through methods such as 'beheading with a sword, throwing from a high mountain while the accused's hands and feet are tied, burning in fire, stoning, and collapsing a wall on them.' Following this statement, news of the involvement of two committees of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in this case was also published. Vali Dadashi, a representative from Astara and spokesperson for the Article 90 Committee of Parliament, announced in an interview with Tasnim news agency that the Minister of Education has been invited to review this case. Mr. Dadashi emphasized that 'those responsible for this matter must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.' On the other hand, Javad Abtahi, a member of the Education Committee of Parliament, reported on Thursday that the Minister has been invited to this committee for further investigation of the case. Mr. Abtahi stated: 'This complex will likely be dissolved, and arrangements must be made to distribute the students of this school to other schools with the consent of their parents.' Previously, Nasser Kouhestani, the head of education in Tehran's second district, had stated in an interview with ILNA news agency that the supervisory council of the second district of Tehran's education department is set to decide on the cessation of this educational institution's activities. The Tehran prosecutor also stated on Wednesday that 'investigations into the accused are ongoing, and the status has been changed to detention.' According to this judicial official, 'on the upcoming Saturday, investigations into other individuals related to the subject will continue.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi had stated a day earlier that 'the accused has confessed to the investigators and the court judge that on one occasion he showed obscene videos he had on his mobile phone to a number of students, but he denied other accusations.' The principal of this non-profit school is accused of coercing children into immoral acts by showing obscene films or images via his mobile phone. In this context, some Iranian media have published a video showing the presence of the parents of the victims of sexual abuse at the school, stating that 17 students have undergone psychoanalysis, and 16 of them reported being victims of sexual abuse. In recent years, several cases of sexual assault in schools and even Quranic circles have been reported in the media, the most famous of which was the sexual assault accusation against Saeed Toosi, a well-known Quran reciter close to Ayatollah Khamenei, against children. Mr. Toosi was acquitted in this case, even though the case investigator had initially issued a 'criminal charge' against him.