Masih Alinejad, the sworn foe of Iranian tyranny who has survived several kidnapping and assassination attempts by the theocrats of Tehran, posted this video on Twitter/X featuring ordinary Iranians feasting and drinking and dancing in celebration of the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president who died in a helicopter crash on 19 May.

Known as the Butcher of Tehran by many Iranians, Raisi was considered a prime candidate to replace the elderly and ailing Ayatollah Khameini as Supreme Leader. Among many other crimes, it was at his blood-drenched hands that the protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022 were viciously suppressed. I doubt he will be missed by many.

Some relevant Freethinker articles

The ‘Women’s Revolution’: from two activists in Iran, by Rastine Mortad and Sadaf Sepiddasht

‘The best way to combat bad speech is with good speech’ – interview with Maryam Namazie, by Emma Park

Religion and the Arab-Israeli conflict, by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

The Satanic Verses; free speech in the Freethinker, by Emma Park

When does a religious ideology become a political one? The case of Islam, by Niko Alm

‘Words are the only victors’ – Salman Rushdie’s ‘Victory City’, reviewed, by Daniel James Sharp

Rushdie’s victory, by Daniel James Sharp

The hijab is the wrong symbol to represent women, by Khadija Khan

Iran and the UN’s betrayal of human rights, by Khadija Khan

The need for a new Enlightenment, by Christopher Hitchens

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