Threats and Arrests of Citizens Following Expressions of Joy Over the Death of Ebrahim Raisi

Following the continued reactions of joy from Iranians inside and outside the country regarding the death of Ebrahim Raisi after a helicopter crash, officials of the Islamic Republic have resorted to threatening and arresting citizens in Iran. According to reports from human rights sources on Tuesday, May 22, Reza Babernajad, the brother of the protesting victim Mahdi Babernajad, has been arrested. Fatemeh Heydari, one of the plaintiffs from the nationwide protests of 2021, stated that Mr. Babernajad's family "has no information about his status," and his mother, during his arrest, told the agents, "Your president is dead? Were our children not human? Why did you kill them?" Additionally, Manijeh Moazzen, a journalist, announced on the social media platform X that "a new case has been opened against her due to the way she reported and reacted to the death of Ebrahim Raisi" and that it has been sent to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. The formation of a new case against this journalist comes while her previous case, with three charges attributed to her, remains open, and according to Ms. Moazzen, "more than six months have passed, and not even a branch has been determined yet." Furthermore, Shaghayegh Mohammadi, the wife of Mohammad Hossein Moradmand, a player for the Esteghlal football team, has also been summoned by the "Intelligence" after publishing a line from a poem by Hafez "with a call" and has been threatened with an "arrest warrant." Shaghayegh Mohammadi stated that she has been threatened by the authorities for publishing the poem "Be happy, for the oppressor does not lead the way home," and has made her Instagram account private. A few months before his death, Ebrahim Raisi read this line from Hafez's ghazal during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and said he had made a fortune-telling. Shaghayegh Mohammadi announced that she would go to the summoned location "tomorrow at the specified time and address," emphasizing in a text she published on Instagram that she stands in respect for "all the daughters of my land, all the grieving mothers of my homeland, and the spilled blood of the youth of my homeland." The mother of Abolfazl Amirataei, a teenage protester killed in the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, also reacted to the death of Ebrahim Raisi and his companions by stating in a video: "They danced in our mourning, and now we are not in mourning because the blood of our loved ones cannot be cleansed or forgotten by anything." On Tuesday, following the reactions of some plaintiffs to the death of Ebrahim Raisi, Fatemeh Heydari, the sister of the plaintiff Javad Heydari, who was killed in Qazvin protests, announced by publishing a chat text with one of the plaintiff families on social media X that "they have started threatening families that we will arrest you for your reactions." The joyful reactions of many Iranians, which began with the news of the helicopter crash carrying several senior officials of the Islamic Republic, increased with the confirmation of Ebrahim Raisi's death. Islamic Republic officials confirmed the death of Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Mohammad Ali Alhashem, Malek Rahmati, and other passengers of the helicopter in the early hours of Monday, May 22, announcing five days of public mourning and one day of holiday. According to reports received by Voice of America, the joy and celebration of Iranians inside and outside the country continue after the announcement of Ebrahim Raisi's death. Group dances in front of the embassies of the Islamic Republic in various cities around the world, distributing sweets and chocolates, fireworks, and the spread of joyful images on social media, along with the trending hashtag "Helicopter Down," are among the reactions to the death of Ebrahim Raisi following the helicopter crash. Ben Sabti: The people of Israel are very pleased with the death of Raisi and Amirabdollahian. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghadam: Ebrahim Raisi was definitely among those who committed crimes against humanity. Blog | UN fact-finding committee: Raisi's death should not lead to forgetting human rights violations in Iran. By the decision of the officials, the Islamic Republic will choose a replacement for Ebrahim Raisi on July 29; the review of the electoral law amendment will take place on the last working day of the parliament.