Before massive protests in Iran, 1200 students were poisoned.
More than a thousand Iranian students have been poisoned in the hours leading up to a planned protest march against the government.
On the eve of nationwide anti-regime protests in Iran, food poisoning struck a dormitory housing 1,200 college students.
The national student union made the claim on Thursday that students at Kharazmi and Ark universities had experienced vomiting, severe body aches, and hallucinations.
Similar outbreaks were reported at at least four other universities. The New York Post reported that in response, students who aren’t sick are avoiding school cafeterias.
While authorities have blamed waterborne bacteria for the distressing symptoms, the student union has suggested the population was deliberately poisoned.
A member of the group wrote on Telegram, “Our previous experiences of similar incidents at the Isfahan university negates the authorities’ reason for this mass food poisoning.”
University health centers reportedly shut down or ran out of supplies to treat dehydration, leading some to speculate that the outbreak was orchestrated to dampen the three-day strike in response to the Iranian regime’s claims that it had disbanded the divisive morality police. This was reported by Arab News.
Originally formed in 2006 as the Gasht-e Ershad, or “Guidance Patrol,” the morality police are responsible for enforcing the county’s stringent dress code for women. Since the revolution that followed in 1979, all women have been expected to cover their hair in public with a hijab.
After the September death of 22-year-old student Mahsa Amini in police custody, the group came under scrutiny. Amini, a law school hopeful, was allegedly detained because her hijab allowed her hair to peek out.
When news of Amini’s mysterious death spread, women all over the country took to the streets to demand answers. Not only are people taking to the streets in large numbers, but celebrities like Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi are also speaking out by posting pictures of themselves in which they are not wearing a headscarf.
Players and fans alike boycotted the national anthem during Iran’s brief World Cup appearance last month.
However, the Iranian government has shown no signs of giving in to public pressure despite the widespread movement. Despite initial reports to the contrary, it has since been made clear that the morality police have not been disbanded.
Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad tweeted a photo of a woman working at a local amusement park without covering her head with a hijab as rumors of a food poisoning scare spread.
The prosecution in Tehran has opened a case against her, Alinejad wrote. “There still exists a morality police. An outright fabrication, indeed.
