Iran’s top judge orders dealing with school harassment case

Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani on Wednesday issued an order for immediately dealing with a “shocking” criminal case, in which a high school official in Tehran has been accused of sexually abusing a number of schoolboys.

“Regarding the received report about a shocking and regrettable incident in a school in western Tehran and the filing of the lawsuit and arrest of the accused and given the importance of the issue that has hurt the feelings of the people…, it is required for the case to be dealt with as soon as possible while observing legal and religious norms,” Amoli Larijani said in the statement.

He further urged the relevant judicial authorities to issue and carry out the required sentence for the case without any delay, and inform him of the result of the trial, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The statement came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei urged immediate punishment of the accused in the sexual harassment case.

“The news of the crime in one of the schools of western Tehran caused grief and regret. It is appropriate to immediately mete out divine punishment after the trial,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a letter to Amoli Larijani on Tuesday.

The deputy headmaster of a private boys’w high school accused of harassing students was arrested by police on Tuesday.

The arrest was made following complaints by families of several students.

The shocking news of widespread sexual abuse has caused outrage among Iranians, particularly parents.

Education Minister Mohammad Bat’haei said the school had recruited the perpetrator without passing due legal process.

The minister vowed to tighten monitoring of the recruitment process in schools.

The head of the school was also sacked by the Education Ministry following the scandal.