Two Months After the 'Acid Attacks in Isfahan' Without Arresting the Perpetrators

More than two months after the series of acid attacks in Isfahan, the perpetrator or perpetrators have not yet been arrested, while Mahdieh Golroo, a member of the Women's Citizen Association and a participant in the protest against this incident, remains in custody. On the other hand, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the commander of the police force, has stated in his latest remarks to reporters that questioning about the acid attacks in Isfahan creates 'psychological insecurity.' Hossein Zolfaqari, the security deputy of the Iranian Minister of Interior, has reported that '191,000' individuals are being investigated to identify the perpetrators of this 'crime.' On November 18, Rasoul Zargarpour, the governor of Isfahan, announced for the first time the existence of 'videos' related to the acid attacks, which he claimed 'indicate' that the perpetrator has 'psychological issues.' Since then, Mr. Zargarpour has not provided any report on the results of the review of these videos. Nasser Jorkesh, the father of Soheila Jorkesh, one of the 'victims' of the acid attacks in Isfahan, stated in an interview with the weekly 'Tamashagaran' published on October 25 that the police could easily track 'two motorcyclists' responsible for the acid attacks using traffic cameras. According to Mr. Jorkesh, in addition to traffic cameras, a fire station on the street where the incident occurred also has CCTV, and the police could utilize footage from this camera as well. On December 14, Hossein Zolfaqari reported that '191,000' individuals from 'a sector' are being examined to identify the perpetrators of this 'crime,' stating that all black motorcycles in Isfahan, all divorce cases, and 'all psychiatric patients in Isfahan' have been reviewed. In recent weeks, police commanders have reported the arrest of the perpetrators of three acid attacks in Tehran. On December 16, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam announced the occurrence of an acid attack on a young girl in Tehran, claiming that this incident was 'due to personal disputes.' However, on December 19, Arya Hajizadeh, the deputy for combating serious crimes in Tehran's police, stated that the woman's claim about the acid attack was false and that she had decided to attract police attention due to the sensitivity surrounding the issue. He mentioned that the arrested individual had previously set the woman's car on fire but had never attacked her with acid. Prior to this, Dr. Siamand Anvari, the director of Ziaian Hospital in Tehran, was attacked with acid by two individuals on a motorcycle while returning home and was hospitalized at Farabi Hospital. The day after this incident, Hossein Sajjadi Nia, the commander of Greater Tehran's police, announced the arrest of 'a doctor and a student' as the 'two perpetrators' of this incident. Some media outlets reported that the perpetrator claimed that Mr. Anvari had 'prevented' his promotion, which led him to attack him with acid with the help of his nephew. On December 24, police commanders in Tehran reported the arrest of a 24-year-old man and 'two accomplices' who, according to them, had planned an acid attack on a girl to 'attract her attention.' Some news agencies and websites reported on December 2 about an acid attack by a man on his wife, his wife's friend, and an 11-year-old girl in Mashhad. Gholamali Sadeghi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Mashhad, announced on December 4, without mentioning this incident, that the judiciary would take decisive action against the perpetrator of the acid attack in this city. About a month after the acid attacks in Isfahan, an attack on six young girls in the city of Jahrom made headlines, five of whom were students. Ultimately, the authorities of this county announced the arrest of the perpetrator of the attack on these girls, and Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Koochi, a representative from Jahrom in the Iranian parliament, stated on December 30 that the accused, Mohammad Beheshti Far, 22, is the son of a Revolutionary Guards colonel named Jalil Beheshti Far. The website 'Saham News,' close to Mehdi Karroubi, also identified this individual as a 'Basij' member. After more than two months, police commanders and judicial officials in Iran still have no new information regarding the arrest of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the acid attacks in Isfahan. Meanwhile, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam has stated that raising questions about this issue creates 'psychological insecurity in society,' while the media should strive to create psychological security. Among the representatives of the Iranian parliament, only Allahyar Malekshahi, the head of the parliament's judicial committee, expressed regret on December 30 over the failure to identify the perpetrators of the Isfahan acid attacks, stating that due to the failure to identify the 'perpetrators' of these attacks, a group has carried out other acid attacks. Some parliament members, who had previously promised that the perpetrators of the Isfahan acid attacks would be arrested quickly, have now remained silent.