Hassan Khomeini condemns violence in Islamic Republic

Hassan Khomeini

Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the late leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, spoke out against Islamic Republic authorities claiming, some people refuse to see the truth and even when they are told about it, they try to “accuse you of an offence.”

Hassan Khomeini has been the target of condemnation by Islamic Republic hardliners for his apparent alignment with opposition forces in the wake of the disputed June presidential elections.

While Hassan Khomeini refrained from naming names in his declarations, he condemned those who insist on “violence” and do not speak of the “mercy of the system.”

In the past nine months, Iranian government has confronted election protesters, who claim the presidential elections in June were rigged, with fierce violence on the streets, shooting at protesters as well as beating and arresting them.

Two dissidents have already been executed in connection with recent protests and another death sentence has recently been upheld in the appellate court.

Hassan Khomeini has been accused of supporting MirHosein Mousavi and the Green Movement by the conservative faction of the establishment.

The establishment has also made various efforts to portray the recent protesters as anti-Revolutionary and against the ideals of the late leader of the Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini.

Some of these efforts, such as a television series aired in February about the life of the founder of the Islamic Republic, was condemned by Hassan Khomeini as a distortion of his teachings.

Recently, the representative of the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei in the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Saidi accused Hassan Khomeini of positioning himself against the “system and the leadership.”

Hassan Khomeini did not attend the inauguration ceremony of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which was interpreted as a challenge to the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s victory in the elections.