Two years have passed since the fire at the girls’ school in Shin Abad village, located in the border city of Piranshahr. The incident occurred at 8 am on Thursday, December 6th, 2012. This fire, which was one of a series of fires due to heating equipment malfunctions in schools in Iran, resulted in the death and injury of 28 students.

After this incident, the officials of the Ministry of Education promised to follow up on the treatment process of the injured as soon as possible; a promise that has not been fulfilled so far and the children of Shin Abad are still waiting for their complete treatment. However, recently there has been some success in obtaining full compensation in the case. In this regard, we have had a conversation with Hossein Ahmadi Nia, the lawyer of the children of Shin Abad, and asked about the latest situation of these children.

Hossein Ahmadi Nia, in an interview with the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh”, while acknowledging the efforts of the two institutions of Iran Insurance and the Office of Dr. Nobakht, the Deputy of Justice and Strategic Planning of the President, in the direction of receiving full compensation for these children, believes that addressing these issues is the responsibility of the government and the Ministry of Education and Training, and the responsibility for this incident lies entirely on their shoulders.

He emphasized that some of these children have undergone surgery between fifty to one hundred times, and said: “Several students have lost their fingers to the point where they can’t even hold a pen…”

In the news, it has been reported that the full blood money for the girls involved in the Shin Abad incident has been paid; does this blood money belong to all the students involved in the incident, including the two who passed away?

In this incident, there were 28 children, 2 of whom died due to severe injuries. Out of this number, 18 received half of the blood money (diyah) according to Article 560 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states: “If at any time the blood money of a woman exceeds one-third of the blood money of a man, in this case the blood money is halved and the remaining amount is combined from one-third and above.” The remaining 8 students did not receive anything. When I took on the legal representation of these students, I objected to this and presented legal and jurisprudential arguments based on Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution and Articles 560, 561, and the footnote of Article 551 of the new Islamic Penal Code. Fortunately, after continuous follow-ups and multiple meetings, we finally reached a result. In the end, Iran Insurance Company agreed to pay 100% of the blood money for these children, and

In any case, obtaining the full compensation, which is only a small part of the rights of these students, is a great success in itself. Which organization or official do you consider involved in achieving this demand?

Yes, in fact, this is the first time that such a matter is taking place in Iran and with legal, juridical and religious reasoning, the blood money of these children is being paid and this can be considered a victory, not only for these students but also for women’s rights in Iranian society.

Regarding your question, I must say that Iran’s insurance itself had good cooperation in this matter and Dr. Nobakht’s office, the deputy of justice and strategic affairs of the president, was also very effective in this issue and carried out valuable actions; therefore, these two institutions had the most influence in achieving this demand.

Mr. Ahmadi Niaz, what other requests do the families of Shin Abadi children have and why have they not been fulfilled yet?

The requests that the families of these children have and we are also following up on, include issues such as facilitating their education, treatment, and livelihood; these children have been affected by a situation that is unpleasant and this matter requires that they be compensated under the title of livelihood so that we can secure their future. However, this incident has occurred due to the negligence of one of the government agencies and it is a fact that the government has a responsibility and must be accountable for this matter and we are pursuing this issue to be able to, within the framework of government responsibility, secure the rights of these children in this area according to the law.

What is the percentage of burnout in these 26 students and how much improvement have they made compared to the first day?

Unfortunately, the percentage of burns in these students is of third degree, which is the most severe type of burn, and some of these children have experienced burns of approximately three hundred and something percent; meaning their entire body has been seriously damaged and, for example, their fingers have been lost to the point where they cannot even hold a pen. Also, the faces of 12 of these individuals have been severely injured. Of course, the 2 individuals who passed away due to the severity of their injuries had the highest level of damage, but unfortunately, the rest are also in such a situation…

The treatment process for these students is still in progress and Hazrat Fatemeh Hospital in Tehran and the Ministry of Health are following up; however, this treatment process takes between seven to fifteen years and is a very long process.

Given that several surgeries have been performed on these children so far and some are still in critical condition, do you think the medical facilities in Iran are able to meet their needs? In your opinion, is it possible for these children to receive treatment outside of the country, or has any effort been made in this regard so far?

Yes, well some of these children have already undergone surgery between fifty to one hundred times, which is a very high number, but the medical facilities are very desirable and fortunately there is no need to worry in this regard. In fact, the medical and surgical teams are doing an excellent job in this field and there is currently no need to send them abroad.

What is the current educational status of these students? Is it possible for them to continue their education considering their physical and mental conditions?

Fortunately, their academic situation has recently improved significantly and we have no problems in this regard; in a way that we have provided suitable facilities for these children in schools according to their specific situation.

How much do you know about the Minister of Education’s responsibility for this event?

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child has the right to receive education in a standard school, and Article 28 of the Constitution beautifully expresses that a standard school is the right of students, not that a standard school is only a steamy oil boiler. Therefore, addressing these issues is the responsibility of the government and the Ministry of Education, and the responsibility for this incident falls entirely on their shoulders.

Mr. Ahmadi, is there a final point that you would like to make?

Thank you; I only appreciate the kindness of Iranians in these two years. Everyone, including the media and other outlets, has been very kind, and during this time, you have accompanied these children and we have all worked together.

We only hope that this tragedy does not happen to any child in Iran and that these children have become a symbol; a symbol that will lead to having standard schools in the country. Our collective effort is to restore hope for life to these children. They are entitled to life and we hope to provide them with a happy and suitable life.

We thank you for the time you have given us.