Freiheitspreis: Schah-Sohn erhält Preis für Irans Volk - Demonstrationen

In Frankfurt, Iranian opposition politician Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah, received the Freedom Prize from the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation during demonstrations attended by several thousand people. The foundation bestowed the award on Pahlavi, representing the Iranian people oppressed by the Mullah regime, who were granted the prize for their desire for freedom.

Around 5,000 demonstrators were on the streets during lunchtime, primarily supporters of Pahlavi, including participants in a large rally scheduled to begin in Ostpark in the afternoon. The city had registered 30,000 attendees for the rally. Pahlavi, an exile in the USA, positioned himself as a transitional leader should the current government in Tehran fall.

However, he faced criticism, partly due to his monarchist history under his autocratic father. At the ceremony in Frankfurt's Paulskirche, Pahlavi announced his intention to hand the award to the Iranian people, not overseas but in their capital, Tehran, asserting his role as a bridge-builder. The largely Iranian-descended audience in the Paulskirche repeatedly interrupted the ceremony with chants: "Long live the Shah, long live Iran!"

FDP Member of Parliament Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann emphasized that Pahlavi had always maintained that the Iranian people decide their own future. Not everyone agreed with the prize awarded to Pahlavi's son. "You always know when you're on the right track," she noted. Despite the protests, Pahlavi garnered many supporters. At Römerberg and around the Paulskirche alone, around 3,000 people were seen with banners and placards during lunchtime, mainly Pahlavi's supporters.

The police deployed a large force in the city due to the demonstrations, with one man arrested. Police reported a tip-off about a livestream in which Pahlavi allegedly announced criminal intentions.