Iranians living in the West are dancing in the streets and posting photos showing celebrations following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
Raisi, 63, died after a helicopter carrying him and other officials crashed in the mountainous area of northwest Iran on Sunday.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has declared that the nation will observe five days of mourning in Raisi’s honor. However, Iranians around the world have taken to social media using the hashtag ‘Happy Helicopter Day’ to share their celebrations of this death.
The daughters of Minoo Majidi, a 62-year-old Iranian woman who was shot 167 times by security services during the nationwide fallout following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police” in September 2022, shared a video on social media raising a glass to the passing of the president.
Mahsa Piraeri said: “Today our sadness turned into happiness, although it is not enough, it is a good start.”
The daughters of Minoo Majidi, a 62-year-old Iranian woman who was shot 167 times by security services, posted a photo toasting Raisi’s death.
Minoo Majidi (pictured) protesting the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022
His daughter Mahsa Piraeri (pictured) said: “Today our sadness turned into happiness, although it is not enough, it is a good start.”
After Majidi’s death, her daughter Roya Piraei (right) went viral on Instagram by taking a photo next to her mother’s grave with her head shaved.
Majidi’s last words to his family before he died were: “If I don’t go out to protest, who else will?” he reported. bbc.
Her daughter Roya Piraei went viral on Instagram by taking a photo next to her mother’s grave with her head shaved and holding her hair as a sign of mourning and defiance.
‘I knew I couldn’t speak. “This is all I could do to show how cruel this system is,” Roya told BBC 100 Women.
Two other Iranian women, Mersedeh Shahinkar and Sima Moradbeigi, posted a video of themselves dancing and smiling in response to the news that Raisi’s helicopter had plunged into the mountainside.
Shahinkar was blinded by the brutality of security forces amid the 2022 protests, while Moradbeigi lost the use of one of her arms after an armed guard broke her elbow at point-blank range.
Iranians dance in the streets and post photos showing celebrations following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
The video posted on TikTok outside the Iranian embassy in Copenhagen shows a crowd dancing and waving Iran’s historic flag with a golden lion in the center.
A video posted on TikTok outside the Iranian embassy in Copenhagen shows a crowd dancing and waving Iran’s historic flag with a golden lion in the center.
‘Iranians in Copenhagen, Denmark, are celebrating the death of Ebrahim Raisi in front of the regime’s embassy. “Helicopter Day is turning into Helicopter Week,” the caption read.
Iranian defender Shayan X shared a video of people celebrating in a similar way outside the Iranian embassy in London.
Crowds cheered, played music and danced in the streets while waving Iran’s historic flag, Union Jacks and Israeli flags.
Activist Hamrah United posted a video of people partying in Germany to commemorate Raisi’s death.
Rapper Shaheen Samadi posted a photo with fellow Iranian-American rapper Weapon X toasting Raisi’s death.
“From your friendly neighborhood Persian rapper and your not-so-friendly neighborhood Persian rapper, happy helicopter day,” Samadi said.
“We hope Khamenei is next.”
Iranian-American chef Ariana Bundy posted an Instagram Story with just the word “Karma.”
Activist Hamrah United posted a video of people partying in Germany commemorating Raisi’s death
Rapper Shaheen Samadi (right) posted a photo with fellow Iranian-American rapper Weapon X (left) toasting Raisi’s death.
Iranian-Canadian actress Shiva Negar said on
‘Goodbye to the butcher of Tehran. We won’t miss you!’
The Iranian Diaspora Collective shared a video of people cheering and playing loud music in a car, celebrating Raisi’s death.
‘Raisi is dead. “He will never be held accountable in court for four decades of serious human rights violations, including the executions of THOUSANDS of political prisoners in the 1980s, who were buried in unmarked mass graves,” the group stated.
‘Today there will be no moment of silence for Raisi. All over the world and in the Middle East, people are shouting for joy.’
Iranian-American psychotherapist Azadeh Afsahi said: “Today I am celebrating with all the survivors of this brutal regime, specifically with all the mothers who have lost their children. This is a small step towards healing.’
“I am so proud of you for fighting despite the pain and suffering caused by this regime.”
Raisi, who assumed the presidency of Iran in 2021, was widely seen as a vassal of the regime and a yes man to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
He won the presidency with a large majority after the 2021 elections, but less than half of the Iranian electorate turned out to vote after many more moderate candidates were banned from running.
Protesters from the anti-government group National Council of Resistance of Iran were seen waving old Iranian flags outside the Iranian Embassy in London.
Protesters celebrate Raisi’s death in London on Monday.
As a young student at a religious seminary in the holy city of Qom, Raisi participated in protests against the Western-backed Shah in the 1979 revolution.
His contacts with religious leaders in Qom made him a trusted figure in the judiciary, and he became Iran’s deputy prosecutor at just 25 years old.
Raisi quickly rose to the top and, in doing so, earned the nickname “the Butcher of Tehran.”
As deputy prosecutor and later chief prosecutor, Raisi was part of the so-called “death committee”, a group of four judges who presided over the courts in 1988 and who met to “retry” the regime’s political prisoners.
Thousands of these prisoners were mercilessly executed and thrown into unmarked graves. The exact number of deaths is unknown, but human rights groups estimate that around 5,000 people died following Raisi’s brutal trial.
Not only was Raisi loyal to the Republic and its supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, but throughout the 1980s he had developed a close relationship with Iran’s then-president, Ali Khamenei.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (pictured) died after a helicopter carrying him and other officials crashed in the mountainous area of northwest Iran on Sunday.
Khamenei went on to become Iran’s Supreme Leader following Khomeini’s death in 1989, and is undoubtedly responsible for charting Raisi’s path to the presidency in 2021.
After Raisi’s election, his hardline position became even more evident.
In 2022, he ordered stricter enforcement of Iran’s “chastity and hijab law,” which restricts women’s dress and behavior.
It was under these orders that Mahsa Amini, 22, was detained in September 2022 by Iran’s “moral police” for wearing an “incorrect” hijab and died three days later in hospital, sparking mass unrest.
The resulting months of nationwide protests presented one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hundreds of people were killed, according to human rights groups, including dozens of security personnel who were part of a fierce crackdown on protesters.