Arrr, the scallywag Raisi meets his fate in a crash of the flying contraption. The UN be silent for him.
2024-05-20
Arrr mateys, even though the scallywag Ebrahim Raisi was called the “Butcher of Tehran,” the United Nations be takin' a moment of silence for the poor bloke after his demise in a mighty crash of a helicopter. Ahoy, the seas be full of surprises indeed!
Despite earning the nickname the "Butcher of Tehran" for presiding over Iran’s human rights abuses, the United Nations on Monday held a moment of silence for Ebrahim Raisi after the Iranian president died in a helicopter crash. At the request of Russia, China, and Algeria, representatives – including United States Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood – stood at the U.N. Security Council for a minute to honor Raisi.Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the moment of silence in memory of "mass murdering" Raisi a "disgrace." Erdan slammed the U.N. Security Council for doing nothing to advance the release of the remaining hostages who have been in Hamas captivity since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.State Department spokesperson Matt Miller addressed the U.S.’ participation in the moment of silence at an afternoon press briefing. Miller pointed to Raisi’s involvement in "numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988."Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iranian security at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), criticized both the U.N. and the State Department for self-defeating actions. A senior adviser to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. clarified that standing for moments of silence is a diplomatic norm and doesn't represent any honor or tribute to Raisi.Raisi was returning via helicopter after traveling to Iran's border with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev when the crash happened in the Dizmar forest in East Azerbaijan province. Raisi was seen as a protégé to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor for his position within the country's Shiite theocracy.But Raisi’s death has also highlighted his human rights record. In 1988, at the end of Iran's long war with Iraq, Raisi served on what would become known as "death commissions," which handed down death sentences for political prisoners, militants and others. International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Activists abroad, like the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, described Raisi’s presidency as seeing "a stunning escalation of state repression and violence against peaceful dissent in Iran."Mass protests swept the country in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been detained over her allegedly loose headscarf, or hijab. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and more than 22,000 others were detained.The Associated Press contributed to this report.