Between 650 and 800 participants, mostly men, were at a pro-Iranian regime demonstration at Romerberg, Frankfurt, yesterday, organised by the Islamic Religious Community of Hesse (IRH).
Participants chanted slogans such as “Allahu Akbar” and “Death to Israel” and carried signs with messages including “Better mullah than US occupation” and “Child-murderer Israel”, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
The rally was titled “For Peace and International Law,” with demonstrators waving flags associated with the Iranian Government and portraits of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Police reported the figures of 650 to 800. They also said that around 400 to 450 people attended counter-demonstrations nearby. Officers kept the rallies separate, although several confrontations occurred.
Authorities said they were investigating whether calls for criminal activity had been made on social media. No arrests have been reported.
Frankfurt’s Green Party mayor, Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, born in Iran, criticised the rally, calling it “intolerable” that opponents of women’s and human rights could use a public gathering to spread their messages. She said members of the Iranian diaspora found the event traumatising.
Ahead of the demonstration, in a press release on March 5, Hesse’s Commissioner for Combating Anti-Semitism, Uwe Becker, sharply criticised the planned rally. He described it as a show of support for the Iranian Government and that it could send “signals of intimidation” to Iranians living in Hesse.
The IRH issued a press release refuting Becker’s claims, describing them as “baseless and malicious defamation of a peaceful assembly.”
It said the demonstration was a protest against war and attacks it considered violations of international law. It emphasised opposition to anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim racism and all forms of racism, and invited Becker to publicly debate his claims.
The group said the rally promoted de-escalation, diplomacy and protection of civilians.
