Families of Victims React to the Death of Raisi; Brother of Reza Babranjad Arrested

Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, a member of the 'Death Committee' in the 1980s, which brought joy to many government opponents, including families of victims, reports indicate the arrest of members of one of these families due to their reaction to the death of the former president of Iran. Fatemeh Heydari, sister of Javad Heydari, one of the victims of the 2022 protests, reported on Tuesday, May 22, the arrest of Reza Babranjad, brother of the victim advocate Mehdi Babranjad, due to his reaction to the death of Ebrahim Raisi. Heydari, who informs about victim advocate families on social media, wrote in a post on X that 'Reza's mother was saying during her son's arrest: Your president is dead? Were our children not human? Why did you kill them? The Babranjad family has no information about his status.' Reza Babranjad's arrest occurred after he shared an Instagram story featuring a video of his brother dancing, who was killed at the age of 22 during the 2022 protests in Quchan by direct fire from Islamic Republic agents, stating: 'The pure blood and pain of all victim advocate mothers and fathers will take its revenge. It may take time, but there is no escape from it.' After widespread expressions of joy from social media users, Mohammad Mohammadi Azad, the Attorney General of the country, issued a directive threatening social media users with 'quick, effective, and deterrent action.' He instructed prosecutors across the country to severely deal with individuals who 'insult' or 'distort the psychological security of society and confuse public opinion' by posting about Raisi's death. Simultaneously, the head of the Cyber Police announced that 'we are closely monitoring the virtual space.' Despite these threats, several families of victims of the Islamic Republic expressed their joy at hearing the news of Raisi's death due to his involvement in widespread human rights violations. Among them, Esmat Vatankhah, known as 'Mother Esmat,' who had 11 family members executed in the 1980s, told Radio Farda that she is happy about Ebrahim Raisi's death. Gohar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti, also shared a poem by Hafez on her Instagram story, stating, 'Be happy that the oppressor does not find a way home.' A video of the daughters of Minou Majidi, a protester killed during the protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, shows them celebrating after the helicopter carrying Raisi and his entourage crashed. The mother of victim advocate Abolfazl Amirataei also wrote on Instagram after the helicopter crash: 'I heard from intelligence agents that your son is dead; he looked me in the eye and said, 'We are sacrificed for him being dead.' They said it was an accident; bring another child.' She referred to Raisi's helicopter crash as 'the sigh of all victim advocate mothers' and wrote: 'I hope you suffer worse than this.' Leila Mahdavi, mother of Siyavash Mahmoudi, one of the victims of the protests following Mahsa Amini's death, also wrote in an Instagram story, 'The body hits the ground rapidly, or face down. This sentence is very familiar.' Several other victim advocate families, including the families of the Ukrainian flight victims, also reacted to the crash of the helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi and several other high-ranking officials, stating: 'We are not sorry for his death. We neither forget nor forgive the murderers of Iran's children.' Azmat Azadari, sister of Ghanimat Azadari, a victim of the Ukrainian plane incident, also wrote on X: 'May this bitter taste be enjoyed by Raisi and his companions and befall other criminals.' Niaz Zam, daughter of Rouhollah Zam, also wrote in an Instagram story: 'What have you done that your death is so sweet?' After the threats from the prosecutor's office, Hossein Ronaghi, a political activist, wrote in a piece titled 'Do not threaten the people': 'The reactions of society are merely a continuation of your inhumane actions... The most natural reaction of these suffering people is to rejoice in your sorrow.' Ronaghi added: 'In reality, your grief and mourning are also fake; undoubtedly, while threatening the people virtually, you are seeking to seize power from one another and pursue the interests of your faction, party, and political affiliations. You are not even mourning for each other; what do you expect from the people?! A people who understand all of this precisely and well.' After the news of the disappearance of the helicopter carrying the president and former foreign minister of Iran and their entourage on May 19, Persian-language social media was filled with humorous messages praying for their death. Critics and opponents of the Iranian government refer to Ebrahim Raisi as 'the execution ayatollah' or 'the massacre ayatollah' due to his involvement in the summer 1988 executions. He also played a role in suppressing the protests of 2009, multiple protests in the 2010s, and censorship of the press and the internet in Iran.