The Bitter Fate of Benita

Iranian newspapers have reported on the surgery of Mehdi Karroubi and the poor health condition of Mir Hossein Mousavi, two candidates who protested the 2009 presidential election and have been under house arrest since February 25, 2011. The government-aligned Iran newspaper quoted Karroubi's son, Hossein Karroubi, regarding his father's health status: "On Wednesday at 7 AM, he was taken to the operating room and underwent an EPS procedure with local anesthesia, resolving his vascular issue. There is no need for a battery, and doctors are hopeful that medication can normalize his pulse, and I believe he will be discharged from the hospital in a day or two." Hossein Karroubi also mentioned that in recent days, apart from the Minister of Health, several members of parliament, including Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Mahmoud Sadeghi, Ahmad Mazani, and Elias Hazrati, requested to meet with Mehdi Karroubi, and two religious authorities, namely Sanei and Bayat Zanjani, inquired about his father's condition via phone. The newspaper Bahar reported that Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, who visited Mehdi Karroubi on Tuesday evening, stated: "I visited Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi for the second time on Tuesday evening; he is hospitalized due to heart problems, and fortunately, he is doing well and will be discharged in a few days." Additionally, the newspaper mentioned that some news sites reported that Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is under house arrest, is in poor health. According to Bahar, sources close to the family of this 2009 presidential candidate said that Mousavi has been struggling with blood pressure fluctuations and dizziness in the past week, and it is reported that his kidney disease has also become chronic. The discovery of the lifeless body of Benita, an eight-month-old girl who was kidnapped last week, has received widespread coverage in the newspapers. The Shahrvand newspaper, with the headline "The Bitter Fate of Benita," reported on its front page: "The lifeless body of Benita was found after six days of searching. The body of this eight-month-old girl was discovered by the police inside the same car that was stolen by the kidnappers in the vicinity of Pakdasht. The forensic doctor has not yet announced the exact cause of death, but it is likely that this eight-month-old girl died due to heat, hunger, and thirst." The newspaper wrote that the kidnapping incident occurred last Friday in one of the streets of Mushiriyeh when a young man, along with his eight-month-old daughter, intended to exit from their parking garage. The father stepped out of his Pride car for a moment to close the garage door, leaving Benita alone in the vehicle, but this moment of negligence was enough for two thieves to steal the car. The father's attempts to prevent the theft were in vain, and the thieves successfully escaped with the stolen vehicle. Immediately after this incident, the girl's parents went to the police to report the theft. The Shahrvand newspaper noted that "the police found Benita's body on Wednesday morning in her father's stolen Pride car in Pakdasht," stating: "In fact, the confessions of the two main suspects in this case led to the discovery of this eight-month-old girl's body after six days. The arrests of these two suspects were announced simultaneously with the news of Benita's death by the police." The newspaper emphasized: "An eight-month-old infant spent six days without food and water in a locked car. Being trapped in a metal room under the scorching sun, no one knows how long this infant could endure the heat and how much she could resist hunger and thirst; no one heard her cries and restlessness. There is no information available about the time of her death. The Shahrvand newspaper also highlighted that both suspects in this incident have been arrested by the police, one of whom has a criminal record and was released on bail. The Shargh newspaper also reported on the "details of the heartbreaking death of eight-month-old Benita," stating: "The body of the eight-month-old girl who was kidnapped from in front of her home a week ago was found, and according to the police, this child died from severe hunger and thirst." According to this newspaper, "the killer claims that when he abandoned the car, Benita was still alive. Currently, both suspects are in custody, and investigations are ongoing. Our reporter's findings indicate that the two suspects went to the vicinity of the family's home to buy drugs on the day of the incident, and when they saw the car left running in the street, they decided to steal it and later realized that a child was in the vehicle." The Shargh newspaper also wrote about the backgrounds of the suspects, stating: "Both suspects are car thieves, and one of them is a repeat offender in car theft who was arrested some time ago and released on bail after legal proceedings and the appearance of 130 complainants, as per the law." The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, assessed the dimensions of "Benita's tragedy" beyond just a kidnapping and murder case, stating: "Benita's tragedy should be sought in the scene of the wealth of officials and managers alongside the poverty of millions of citizens, unemployment, the promotion of violence, class disparity, and the normalization of the wealthy's pride in their wealth." This newspaper also implicitly evaluated the media's attention to news of child abuse and murder as a "media project," stating: "The cases of Kimia and Atena led to a media project linking such crimes to the non-implementation of the 2030 document and the failure to educate children about sexual matters. An illogical and unacceptable theory that faded with the recent crime and the death of eight-month-old Benita, providing an opportunity for serious realities to emerge; realities of poverty and social discrimination that, due to the lack of action against major crimes and criminals, have caused the cycle of social harm to widen, and in this context, newer crimes are taking shape; crimes such as the murder and rape of a seven-year-old child or the death of an eight-month-old child during a theft." The Javan newspaper also noted that "if the police, considering the facilities at their disposal and the cameras that monitor the city and record even the smallest traffic violations, acted a bit more responsibly, the stolen car would have been found before the bitter death of eight-month-old Benita." The Aftab Yazd newspaper also published heartbreaking photos of Benita's mother's sorrow on its front page with the headline "The Great Grief of This Mother," while the Etemad newspaper wrote: "It is true that the killers of this child were two thieves, but the occurrence of this incident in society signifies a blow to part of our human roots in Iran; let us take a moment to think about what makes two people (thieves), who grew up in this land, abandon a child in a car to die from thirst and hunger. What has happened to our society? Let us all think about this question; all of us, the officials." The Jahane San'at newspaper reported on the people's situation in the "vice of inflation," stating: The increase in the prices of essential goods in the market is one of the issues that is currently moving forward at full speed. This newspaper wrote: "Currently, in addition to the rising price of meat in the market, which is sold for up to 53,000 tomans per kilogram in chain stores, chicken is also facing a significant price increase, with reasons such as the rising cost of day-old chicks being cited for the increase in this product's price. As a result, the price of chicks has reached 2,500 tomans, and in some cities, chicken is sold for up to 9,000 tomans per kilogram. Moreover, in addition to the rising cost of day-old chicks, Ali Akbari, the head of the Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources Commission of Parliament, believes that inappropriate methods by the Market Regulation Headquarters have increased chicken prices, as the headquarters has recently subjected the price of day-old chicks to penalties." According to Jahane San'at, the rising prices of meat and chicken continue while eggs have also joined the inflation trend, with the price of each carton reaching 12,000 tomans, meaning each egg costs 400 tomans, although in some areas, they are sold at even higher prices. This newspaper wrote: "Although officials claim that the government has always tried to stabilize prices and prevent inflation, ultimately, unclear policies and the lack of clarity regarding the responsibilities of various agencies have caused the public to bear the consequences of the negligence and disorganization of executive officials. As a result, they constantly face inflation for their most essential goods." The Ettela'at newspaper featured a photo of Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad on its front page and quoted him as saying: "Criticism of the law is a right, even if it is the Constitution." Hossein Ali Amiri, Deputy Parliamentary Affairs of Hassan Rouhani, stated in an interview with the Iran newspaper: "The confidentiality of the Total contract is similar to contracts with Russian and Chinese companies." The newspapers on Thursday, including Javan and Iran, also published Hassan Rouhani's remarks in response to new sanctions against Iran. The Javan newspaper quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying: "We will definitely respond to America" and "We will strengthen all our defensive weapons regardless of others' opinions."