Journalist Saba Azarpeik Receives Two-Year Prison Sentence and Additional Penalties

Renowned journalist Saba Azarpeik has been handed a two-year prison sentence and a ban on social media activities, following complaints from several authorities within the regime, as reported by Hamshahri Newspaper.

The verdict, issued on February 26, cited Azarpeik’s conviction on charges of “disseminating false information, slandering, defamation, and threatening.” Additionally, the court specified that any recurrence of such actions would result in a one-third extension of her imprisonment.

The legal proceedings originated from complaints lodged by members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, including Alireza Razm Hosseini, the former Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, Zahra Sheikhi, a Parliament member, and Mohsen Dehnavi, a Director of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Azarpeik has a history of summons and arrests for her journalistic activities.

About 1200 School Students Poisoned in Qom and Borujerd

According to the spokesperson for the Parliament’s Health Commission, 800 school students in Qom and 400 in Borujerd have been poisoned in a series of poisoning attacks on several schools.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Etemad News, about 1200 schoolgirls have been poisoned at school in recent weeks.

Similar suspicious poisoning incidents took place in schools in other cities such as Tehran, Ardabil and Kermanshah.

Zahra Sheikhi, the Parliament’s Health Commission spokesperson, stated, “by February 27, 799 cases of mild poisoning at schools have been reported. As reported during the meeting today, in Borujerd, about 400 school students have been poisoned mildly between February 21 and 29.”
“The investigations dismiss digestive poisoning, but they have been subjected to respiratory poisoning. There are some theories about that, but the findings are still inconclusive,” she added.

Earlier, a deputy of Iran’s ministry of health stated that with these attacks: “Some want all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed down.”

Also, Mohammad-Taghi Fazel Meybodi, a religious scholar and university professor, called these incidents intentional attacks organized by “religious groups.” Moreover, the prosecutor-General of Iran also called these incidents “intentional.”