More violent, Iranian protesters ‘behead’ the head of Ayatollah Khomeini’s statue

TEHRAN – Iranian protesters beheaded a statue of former supreme spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini in northeastern Iran on Friday night. It comes as anti-government demonstrations continue after Mahsa Amini’s death in custody.

In a video shared by Iranian opposition news site Iran Wire, a hooded man climbs a statue of the first leader of the Islamic Republic in Neyshabur and beheads him.

The unidentified protesters then fled as cheers and shouts rang out from the crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j

It is unclear what happened to the protesters after this video was shot Al ArabicSunday (16/10/2022).

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The city where the protesters beheaded the Khomeini statue is the birthplace of the famous Iranian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam.

After the death of Amini, 22, who was arrested for wearing the hijab improperly last month, thousands of people in Iran took to the streets to condemn the Iranian government and its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Initial claims for accountability for Amini’s death turned into direct challenges to the clerical system of government.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was a Shiite jurist who lived in exile for decades in Turkey, Iraq and France due to his opposition to the pro-Western dictatorship of Shah Mohamad Reza Pahlavi.