Families of Some Victims of Iran’s Protests React to Khamenei’s Offer to Pay Blood Money

Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, who had previously described the protesters as “wicked, vengeful, and vile individuals,” proposed in his latest speech to pay blood money to families of some of the deceased, a proposal that has been met with negative reactions from some victims’ families.

Nahid Shirpisheh, the mother of Pooya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of recent protests in Iran, responded on Thursday, December 5th, to Ali Khamenei’s recent remarks in an interview with Radio Farda, saying, “My son’s blood is worth more than words—they cannot compensate for it with money, and I absolutely do not allow officials to enter my home.”

Ms. Shirpisheh, noting that every drop of Pooya Bakhtiari’s spilled blood is worth billions of tomans, said that the Islamic Republic’s officials “should fear my anger and rage. They should fear my sighs. These people should fear me, Pooya Bakhtiari’s mother.”

Pooya Bakhtiari was one of the victims of recent protests in Iran. On the second day of the gasoline price hike protests, he went to a demonstration with other family members and was shot, dying before reaching the hospital.

According to reports published by Iranian domestic news agencies on Wednesday, December 4th, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, ordered that citizens who were killed and “had no role whatsoever in the protests” and “lost their lives in the midst of clashes” be considered martyrs, and their families be supported by the Martyrs Foundation and Veterans Affairs Organization.

This is not the first time that the Islamic Republic’s officials have spoken about paying blood money to families of protest victims in Iran. Previously, during the 2009 people’s protests that followed the presidential election and occurred extensively in various Iranian cities, Iranian officials had offered to pay blood money to some victims’ families.

Mohammad Aghsaltan, the brother of Neda Agha-Soltan, one of the victims of the 2009 protests, responded to the recent remarks of the Islamic Republic’s leader by posting on Twitter, stating that in 2009, families of victims were also offered blood money payments, with some accepting and others, like the Agha-Soltan family, refusing to accept it.

Hajar Rostami, Neda Agha-Soltan’s mother, also stated in an interview with Radio Farda that after Neda’s death, five Red Crescent personnel came to her home and brought a card signed in Ali Khamenei’s handwriting as condolences; however, “we did not allow them to enter. I also went to Judge Shahryari twice regarding Neda’s case, and he offered to pay blood money, but we refused.”

Neda Agha-Soltan was one of the victims of the 2009 protests, killed one day after Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech at Friday prayers on June 20th, 2009, as a result of being shot. Images of Neda Agha-Soltan’s death, recorded by a citizen’s mobile phone camera, resonated around the world.

Previously, Amnesty International stated in its latest report on the suppression of November’s popular protests that according to credible reports received by the organization, at least 208 people were killed in these protests. Although the actual number of those killed is likely higher.

Following the sudden increase in gasoline prices, Iran witnessed widespread protests by people against the Islamic Republic. On Friday, November 15th, after news of this price increase was announced, widespread protests erupted in various Iranian cities, and on the evening of Saturday, November 16th, just one day after the protests began, the Islamic Republic almost completely shut down the internet.

President Donald Trump reacted on Tuesday, December 3rd, to the Iranian government’s treatment of protesting citizens and said at the margins of a NATO leaders’ summit: “It is very unfortunate that protesters in Iran have been killed simply for protesting.”

The U.S. President, at the margins of this summit, repeatedly referred to the subject of Iranian protesters and America’s support for the Iranian people, saying: “The protesters in Iran are seeking freedom, and we fully support them.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke on Monday, December 2nd, at Lowell (Louisville) University, and while acknowledging the domestic reasons for protests in some Middle Eastern countries, he also referred to the Islamic Republic’s role in these countries, saying that the Iranian regime is the common factor behind all protests in the region.

Source: Voice of America