Deputy of Beheshti University Resigns Following Student Poisoning Incident

The student deputy of Beheshti University in Tehran has resigned following the poisoning of over 40 students at the university due to carbon monoxide gas. Hossein Simayi Sarraf, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, confirmed the resignation of Mahmoud Ahmadi during a meeting with some of the affected students on Friday, December 7. A new deputy will be appointed for the university. Tehran's emergency services reported on Friday morning the release of carbon monoxide in the girls' dormitory of the university in Velenjak, stating that 44 students were poisoned, with 41 of them being transferred to the hospital. The resignation of Mahmoud Ahmadi came amidst recent controversies surrounding the dismissal of several university administrators appointed during the previous government. Last week, the dismissal of the president of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad faced significant backlash, with some members of the former Ministry of Science accusing Simayi Sarraf of inappropriate conduct towards the former president and failing to adhere to 'conventional and ethical protocols' in this regard. The Minister of Science also stated in a television program on the occasion of Student Day that there were no expelled students. Simayi Sarraf justified this by saying that cases of student expulsions were 'resolved in the previous government,' and only one case of expulsion occurred under the new administration. He added that 'about 150 students were on suspension,' with their cases being reviewed separately, and some of these students 'returned to the university on a specific list.' Meanwhile, the Minister of Health previously reported the return of 300 students with disciplinary rulings to universities under this ministry, and 240 students returned to universities under the Ministry of Science. The Minister of Science did not provide an explanation for the discrepancies in these statistics during his televised interview. He also stated that the return of detained or legally charged students and professors is the responsibility of the judiciary's task force, and the re-examination of these cases by the judiciary is questionable. Universities have been a focal point of protests during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, with many students facing disciplinary, legal, and security actions and being deprived of their studies due to their participation in protests and non-compliance with mandatory hijab laws.