Police Denies 'Murder of Three Children' in Tehran

Fatemeh Daneshvar, a member of Tehran's City Council, reported the murder of three children by 'homeless individuals' in the city, while the head of Tehran's Criminal Police stated that this news is not true. According to a report on Tuesday, April 31, by 'Young Journalists Club', Ms. Daneshvar mentioned in a public session of the Tehran City Council that she received a report about the deaths of three children aged four, five, and eight. This council member stated that two children, aged four and five, were killed near 'Kavsar Park', and an eight-year-old child was killed on 'Vahdat Islami' Street by 'homeless individuals'. Fatemeh Daneshvar did not mention the timing or motives behind these murders but criticized families for their negligence and lack of attention towards children, allowing them to roam the streets alone. Abbasali Mohammadian, head of Tehran's Criminal Police, also denied the statements of this city council member on Wednesday (April 1), stating that the police had not discovered 'the body of any child'. Mr. Mohammadian confirmed, however, that a 10-year-old child was killed last year on 'Vahdat Islami' Street, which he described as 'the most painful murder' of the year 1394 (2015). Mohammadian added that 'through police tracking, the suspect of this horrific incident was immediately identified and arrested, and the suspect is currently in prison under legal custody.' This murder occurred on September 10, 1394 (2015), when a 35-year-old man fatally stabbed a 10-year-old boy, and was later identified and arrested by the police. The issue of child murder and abuse in Iran has resurfaced in the news, reports, and analyses of the country's media following the report of the murder of an Afghan girl in Varamin. In this context, the police dispersed a gathering held in memory of Setayesh Ghaderi, a six-year-old Afghan girl murdered by a 17-year-old Iranian boy.