Prosecutor: Police Should Have Discovered the Car Carrying Benita Sooner

Despite denial from the police spokesperson, the Tehran prosecutor confirmed that the location of the stolen car carrying 'Benita', the eight-month-old girl, had been reported to the police by an individual via phone. He stated that it was 'expected' for the police to have discovered the car 'sooner'. On Thursday, July 20, two individuals stole the car along with Benita while her father was about to close the parking door. The vehicle was found on August 4 in Pakdasht near Tehran, with Benita deceased. After their arrest, the thieves claimed they abandoned the car after removing the stereo, leaving the child inside. According to ISNA, citing the Tehran prosecutor, this incident occurred on Thursday, July 20, but there had been 'no appropriate notification' regarding it until Wednesday, August 4. Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi mentioned that based on the report from the head of the criminal prosecution office, on Tuesday, August 3, 'an individual had reported the abandoned stolen vehicle in Pakdasht to the Tehran police.' He emphasized that 'it was expected that the police would have discovered that vehicle sooner.' On the other hand, the second accused in this case stated that a few hours after abandoning the car, he visited the Khatunabad police station in Pakdasht and informed the police about the incident. He also mentioned that on Tuesday, he had asked a friend to inform the police about the matter by phone. However, Saeed Montazerolmahdi, the police spokesperson, denied the visit of this individual to the police station on Tuesday. According to this police official, 'the printout of all calls through the system with the 110 center and also with the police station's fixed number was examined, and it was determined that no phone calls or messages had been made from the criminals' lines (which had four phone lines) or even from public payphones.' The car was stolen in Mushiriyeh, Tehran, and the two thieves claimed they were present at that location to buy drugs when 'they saw the running car abandoned in the street, acted to steal it, and after the theft, realized the child was in the vehicle.' The newspaper Shargh also reported on the backgrounds of the accused: 'Both suspects are car thieves, and one of them has a criminal record for car theft, having been arrested some time ago and released on bail after legal proceedings and the appearance of 130 complainants.' Several websites also reported that this individual was released on a salary slip. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesperson, rejected these reports, stating that he had committed '12 thefts' and was released after 14 months in prison on a bail of 160 million tomans. The death of Benita, as well as the sexual assault and murder of Atina Aslani, a 7-year-old girl from Parsabad Moghan in Ardabil province, has received significant media attention in Iran. Atina was murdered on June 18, and her body was found 20 days later in the parking lot of the killer's shop. According to Iranian news agencies, a married man sexually assaulted Atina and ultimately killed her. On Tuesday, July 17, ILNA reported a case of the rape of a young girl in Darvazeh Ghar, Tehran. Officials in Markazi province also reported on August 7 that a five-year-old girl named 'Pariya' in Saveh had fallen into a coma after 'physical abuse' and 'head trauma.' Two days later, Hossein Asadbigi, head of the social emergency service, announced that this child had died. The mother of this child and two others have been arrested, but no official has yet announced who her assailant was. In this context, '40 cases of child abuse' are reported daily in Iran, with 'about ten thousand cases of spousal abuse' referred to Tehran's forensic medicine in six months.