Two Iranian Students Sentenced to Prison After Protesting School Poisonings

Hasti Amiri and Zia Nabavi, student activists who protested the mass poisoning of schoolchildren, were ordered to report to prison to serve their sentences.

Nabavi, a former political prisoner and student activist, wrote on his account on social media platform X that the duo would begin their one-year prison sentences on April 6.

The activists were convicted of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" for participating in a "rally protesting the serial poisonings."

Since November 2022, hundreds of girls' schools across Iran have been targeted by poisoning attacks in what Amnesty International described as "a campaign that appears to be highly coordinated and organized."

As many as 13,000 pupils have reportedly suffered symptoms including nausea, fainting, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, and heart palpitations, with many requiring treatment at hospitals.

The attacks appeared to have targeted girls for their involvement in the nationwide protests sparked by the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.