The death of Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Iranian regime, elicited diverse reactions within the Iranian community. The government and some official groups announced mourning and condolences, with several world leaders also offering their sympathies, which were met with sharp reactions.
However, the reaction of the Iranian people was quite different, with many celebrating and rejoicing at the news worldwide. Raisi was widely despised for his various roles in suppressing protests and violating human rights, particularly for his brutal crackdown on protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
In social media and on the streets, people responded to Raisi’s death with celebrations, highlighting their deep-seated hatred for him due to his inhumane policies. Raisi was a member of the so-called “Death Committee” in 1988, which issued execution orders for approximately 30,000 political prisoners, mostly from the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), after brief trials.
In response to the public’s celebratory reactions, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, the regime’s Attorney General, issued a directive for all public and revolutionary prosecutors to take necessary measures against those “misusing social media” to “disturb public opinion” regarding the incident. This includes “spreading false information and insults,” with a call for “quick and deterrent action” according to regulations.
Following this directive, regime supporters on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), began collecting information about users who expressed joy over Raisi’s death, urging their like-minded peers to gather data on opponents and those rejoicing in the death of regime officials to hand over to security and judicial authorities.
Despite the regime’s announcement of five days of public mourning and a one-day holiday following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials, the widespread joy among the Iranian people was evident.
Families of the victims of the 2022 nationwide protests also shared videos of their children dancing on social media.
#ابوالفضل_آدینه_زاده
🤍✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/H6plg7iPtK— مرضیه آدینه زاده (@MarzieAdinezade) May 20, 2024
The war-torn people of Gaza and Syria expressed their happiness following the death of Ebrahim Raisi by distributing sweets and celebrating.
Additionally, Iranians around the world joined in the celebrations.
Iran:
Hamedan-Iran
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