Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed shah, was presented with a Freedom Prize in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday in honor of the Iranian people, though the legitimacy of the award drew notable criticism.
According to police estimates, about 18,000 demonstrators gathered in the German city to welcome Pahlavi, with many chanting slogans in his support and waving Iran’s pre-revolutionary flags.
The award was presented by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, an activist organisation affiliated with Germany’s liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).
Speaking during the ceremony at St Paul’s Church, Pahlavi said Iranians were not waiting to learn about democracy but were being denied the opportunity to practise it.
“Iran is a country not waiting to be taught democracy, this is a country being prevented from practising it,” he said.
St Paul’s Church is historically significant as the venue of Germany’s first elected parliament, which sat between 1848 and 1849.
“A people ready to die for the right to vote is willing to exercise the right to vote,” he added to applause.
Anti-government protests broke out at the end of last year in Iran and were suppressed in a January crackdown by security forces which rights groups say killed tens of thousands.
Pahlavi’s voice quivered as he spoke of the relatives of those killed, some of whom were present in the hall.
“You could not have chosen a people who better understand the meaning of the word ‘freedom’,” he told the foundation.
Pahlavi taking receipt of the prize was not welcomed by all, despite the visible support he enjoyed on the streets of Frankfurt.
Pahlavi’s father, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was the last shah of Iran, an autocratic ruler who fled into exile in 1979 ahead of a broad revolution that overthrew the monarchy and later became consolidated under Islamist clerical rule.
Others criticise Pahlavi for his vocal support for Israel and accuse him of failing to distance himself sufficiently from his father’s autocratic rule.
About 200 prisoners held in Iran signed a letter protesting Pahlavi’s receipt of the prize, according to Sahar Sanaie, spokeswoman for the Society for German-Iranians in the state of Hesse, considering him a symbol of a “bygone dictatorship”.
The Frankfurt branches of the centre-left SPD and Greens boycotted the event, arguing Pahlavi could not be considered a legitimate representative of the Iranian people.
The Frankfurt branch of the far-left Die Linke said the church should not host the event, pointing to city statutes that prevent the place of worship from hosting political events.
Speaking Saturday, Pahlavi said he was accepting the prize only as a “trustee” until a democratically-elected government was in power in Iran.
“I hold it only temporarily,” he said. “One day I will place it in the hands of its rightful owners, not on foreign soil but in the capital, Tehran.”
What You Should Know
Reza Pahlavi received the Freedom Prize from a German liberal activist foundation during a ceremony in Frankfurt, drawing thousands of supporters to the streets while also sparking protests and boycotts from critics who view him as a symbol of past dictatorship and question his political stances.
- Positive Impact: Highlights ongoing international discourse and solidarity regarding human rights and democratic aspirations for the people of Iran.
- Potential Concerns: Deepens political divisions among Iranian opposition groups and foreign critics regarding legitimate representation and leadership for future democratic transitions.
