Iranian Embassy in Berlin: Attack on opponents of the regime

“I thought I was safe in Germany. But I was wrong, »says Saeed Ayhajan and shows his bandaged forearm. “Only the terrorists in the embassy are safe.” The gaunt 55-year-old has been living in Germany since 2018. He was previously imprisoned in his native Iran for several years for political reasons. He does not speak German. Where his clumsy English is not sufficient, one of his colleagues translates from Farsi, the national language of Iran.

By terrorists in the embassy, ​​he means the representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Germany and its staff. Since mid-October, Saeed and like-minded people have been holding a vigil in a trailer opposite the embassy. Barely thirty meters of road separate Iranians from Iranians. However, their ideas for the future of their country could not be further apart. “I have daughters in Iran who are demonstrating for a free life. The least I can do is show my solidarity with their struggle, »says Saeed while sitting in the trailer.

Hoods attack

But solidarity with the people of Iran does not come for free, even in the tranquil Dahlem district of Berlin. The elegant interwar villas look as if Thomas Mann could step out of their columned portals at any moment. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, however, the calm was over. Shortly after 1 a.m., three hooded men approached the trailer in which Saeed and three comrades were staying. They tore down posters and stole the Iranian national flag from before the mullahs’ revolution, which was planted on the trailer.

“We were asleep when that happened,” says Saeed. When the strangers then tried to open the trailer door, the men came out. A scuffle soon ensued. Saeed was pushed and injured his arm when he fell, but got off comparatively lightly. One of his companions is in the hospital. It got him badly. The three attackers beat him, among other things, with a kind of wooden club when he was lying on the ground.

A knife, in turn, hit 63-year-old Alihossan Mohamedikartalei. His bound big toe bears witness to this. When shaking hands in the caravan, he distorts his face in pain. Eventually his ribs were bruised too.

The fourth comrade-in-arms was not injured, report Saeed and Alihossan. However, he was threatened by a man with a gun. He was waiting for the three attackers on the other side of the street together with another in the car. The police are therefore investigating because of threats with firearms, dangerous bodily harm in two cases and simple bodily harm. State security has taken over. A political motive is ultimately obvious.

The Shah’s son is to succeed the mullahs

From Nik Jafarzadeh’s point of view, this is only logical. “It wasn’t an incident, it was a terrorist act,” he says indignantly. “And of course that was controlled from in there,” he says with certainty, pointing in the direction of the embassy. The 55-year-old heads the organization “Iranian Parliamentary Monarchy”. She wants to replace the mullah regime with the son of the last shah, whose picture hangs in the trailer. ‘Democratic, of course. Just like in Holland,” he says. Jafarzadeh has been fighting the Islamic Republic for years. It was he who registered the vigil. He was not present when the incident took place, but arrived shortly thereafter. He was outraged at how the police dealt with the incident.

He is particularly upset by the behavior of the police officers who guard the Iranian embassy day and night. “Nothing happened for a quarter of an hour,” he calculates. In their distress, his friends called out loud for help. However, the three security guards stood listlessly on the other side of the street and only informed the police responsible for the area so late that the perpetrators were long gone when they arrived.

During the conversation, a police officer stops by to check on things. He does not want to be quoted and refers to the police press office because of doubts about the behavior of his colleagues. However, he asks for understanding that the guards in front of the embassy have not left their posts. It could have been that the attack was just a diversionary tactic to attack the embassy. In any case, the patrol was there a minute after the emergency call.

From the point of view of the Berlin police, the guards in front of the embassy acted quickly, contrary to what they are accused of. The attack was noticed at 1:15 a.m. At 1:19 a.m., two emergency vehicles were already on site. “We fully understand that people who are attacked and are in such exceptional situations can sometimes perceive time very differently,” the police said on Monday evening. Experience teaches that too.

The attack was carefully registered in the Foreign Office. According to the Foreign Ministry, freedom of expression and assembly is one of the highest constitutionally protected goods in Germany and must be able to be exercised safely and without restrictions at any time. One hopes for a quick clarification there.

The demonstrators in front of the embassy are not discouraged by the events of the weekend. “We’re going on,” says Alihossan defiantly. That doesn’t scare him. Saeed agrees. He says: “Not only do I have hope, I’m sure: this time the regime will fall.”