Hamed Esmaeilion has resigned as spokesman of families of victims who perished in the downing of a Ukrainian airliner by the IRGC, to focus on his leading role in supporting Iran's protests.
Esmaeilion has become one of the leading figures in the diaspora to represent Iran's protests movement since September and has organized many large rallies in Canada and Europe.
The The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims has been a critical support for the families of the 176 victims who died on Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 destined for Kyiv when it was hit with two surface-to-air missiles fired by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as it was taking off from Tehran on January 8, 2020.
Esmaeilion admitted leaving the role was "a difficult decision to make", having led the campaign for truth and justice since losing his wife Parisa Eghbalian, and his nine-year-old daughter, Reera Esmaeilion, in the tragedy.
Iran has prevented an independent investigation, insisting the downing of the airliner was a mistake.
Though the revolution, which was sparked in September by the death of Mahsa Amini, has led to almost 600 deaths, Esmaeilion says he feels positive for the country's future.
"I am confident and hopeful that the time is now for Iran – the time is now for freedom. I believe it is my duty to do all that I can and to use my voice to help the country and people that I love,” he said.
Kourosh Doustshenas, who has been closely involved with government, legal, and advocacy efforts since 2020 after losing his fiancee on the flight, will replace Esmaelilion as its new spokesperson with a new president to be decided in the coming months. Esmaelilion will remain an active member of the Association and retain a position on its Board of Directors.
The Association currently awaits the formal referral of Flight PS752’s case by Canada and the other affected countries to the International Court of Justice, which can take place in June following the expiration of the six-month arbitration period under the Montreal Convention.
“Our investigations indicate that probably less than 10 percent of the children [reportedly poisoned] had actually been affected by irritant substances,” the official in charge of the ministry’s treatment department, Dr. Saeed Karimi, told the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Monday evening.
Attacks continued in at least 120 school in 25 of Iran's 31 provinces on Monday. The number of reported poisoning attacks across the country has greatly increased in the past few days.
Dr. Karimi said the ministry’s investigations were carried out by a committee of experts in pulmonology, toxicology, microbiology, infectious diseases, psychology, and environmental health who examined the poisoning reports from various provinces as well as some of the victims.
The “irritant substances,” he said, had affected the students between 10 to 15 minutes after they smelled fumes of varying odors and caused a burning sensation in the victims’ throats as well as coughing, shortness of breath, and tears followed by stomach cramps, lethargy, and in some cases, loss of limb movement.
Dr. Karimi, however, denied that what he called “irritant substances” were “dangerous, weapons grade, or deadly” but said they could have been thrown on a heat source such as a radiator in “solid, paste, powder or liquid form” before turning into fumes and spreading in the air.
“These irritant substances are not necessarily of one type to be named … They are generally readily available substances,” he said. “Irritant substances usually don’t bear long-term effects, [their effects are] passing, and are not used to cause permanent damage [to victims’ health],” he said.
However, some medical experts such as Dr. Mohammadreza Hashemian, an official at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran where many of the victims have been treated, have said that the gases suspected of being used seem to be composed of various chemicals that are not accessible to ordinary people.
The committee has obtained samples of these irritant substances but needs to recheck the results for certainty, the deputy health minister said. Meanwhile, social media reports indicate that private labs refuse to accept samples submitted by the public for the fear of getting into trouble with the authorities.
The deputy health minister also claimed that in around 90 percent of the cases symptoms were caused by stress and anxiety when other students fell ill or caused by media reports of the poisonings.
In the past 24 hours, there have also been reports of attacks on a boys’ high school in Karaj and boys’ primary in Esfahan and a shopping arcade in Ahvaz in southwestern Iran where at least 700 students were taken to hospital. Around ten shoppers who reportedly had some symptoms similar to the gas poisoning victims’ symptoms Sunday evening were also taken to hospital.
According to social media reports, some victims had nosebleeds as well but there are no further reports on the details of the incident.
The public is highly suspicious of the regime’s own involvement. A journalist was arrested in Qom Monday, apparently for investigating the possible connection of the perpetrators with hardliner groups loyal to the clerical regime. Sources in Iran say police and plainclothes agents present at the scenes of the attacks strictly prevent anyone from filming, presumably to prevent the perpetrators from being identified.
On Monday, for the first time since the first attack in the religious city of Qom on November 30, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressed the issue. “If there are really hands at work, or individuals or groups that are involved in this, this will be a huge crime that cannot be overlooked,” he said, adding that culprits should be given maximum punishment for their crime.
Some social media users say they fear Khamenei’s condemnation of the attacks may result in falsely blaming opposition groups and punishment for innocent individuals to cover up the possible role of extremist religious groups who want to prevent girls from getting an education beyond elementary level.
Opposition groups inside Iran have called for nationwide protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said Monday in Esfahan (Isfahan) that women violating the Islamic dress code – or hijab -- will be punished, reaffirming that the law is still in place after months of unrest and a deadly crackdown on protests ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. One of the ways of civil disobedience by Iranian women in the past six months has been removing their headscarves in public places.
"Removing one's hijab is equivalent to showing enmity to the Islamic Republic and its values. People who engage in such an abnormal act will be punished," Ejei said, adding that “With the help of the judiciary and the executive, authorities will use all available means to deal with the people who cooperate with the enemy and commit this sin that harms public order."
Hijab has been a contentious issue in recent months in Iran with many people not abiding by the rules and some confronting those who unveil in public. Also on Monday, Mehdi Bayati, the secretary of the government’s “Virtuous Life” working group, said that God has made hijab mandatory for Muslims according to the Quran, although this has long been a matter of debate.
Ejei also touched on the issue of the serial chemical attacks on girls’ schools and dormitories that first were reported in the religious city of Qom and spread to at least 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces. Reports suggest more than 1,000 schoolchildren have been affected by poisonings since November.
Ejei described the attacks as a “clear example of corruption on Earth,” a Sharia term that can lead to the death penalty. If the perpetrators of this action are identified and arrested, they will be sentenced to ‘corruption on Earth’ and will be punished decisively and without tolerance, he said.
His remarks came as Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei finally spoke out about the poisoning of schoolgirls in recent months and denied any government role in the attacks. If the attacks cease to happen from now on, it may be proof that the perpetrators are followers of Khamenei, strengthening speculations that they were acting following his remarks about “small punishment of youngsters” who took to the streets in anti-regime protests.
Following Khamenei’s remarks, Canada-based activist Hamed Esmaeilion -- whose daughter and wife were killed when the IRGC’s shooting shot down a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020 -- said that “a crime such as the widespread chemical attacks on girls’ schools across Iran is not possible without Khamenei knowing and ordering them; just like the fact that shooting at an airplane was not possible without his order.” Esmaeilion added that Khamenei is the prime suspect, and sentencing of the accused should start with him.
Over a thousand Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to girls' education.
However, citizens and critics on social media ask why the government has failed to arrest the perpetrators of such a large and coordinated campaign, while it was efficient in killing and detaining antigovernment protesters. Others say the hardliner establishment is behind the attacks to take revenge from schoolgirls who joined the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in October and November.