71 German personalities criticized Reza Pahlavi for the "Liberation Prize for the Iranian People".

71 German personalities criticized Reza Pahlavi for the "Liberation Prize for the Iranian People".

71 personalities from the fields of politics, law and society, including politicians, lawyers and cultural activists of Germany, in open letters to the presidents of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, asked to reconsider the decision of this foundation to award the "Liberation Prize of the Iranian People" to Reza Pahlavi.

The signatories of the letter, which mention the interception of German and Iranian students during the Shah's trip to West Berlin in June 1967, pointed to the violent treatment of SAVAK officers, the intelligence and security organization of the Shah's government, with the demonstrators. According to them, during these interceptions, the Sabak police officers carried out a ground attack on the demonstrators with a baton.

Stefan Zeivish, chairman of the foundation's board of directors, announced on Thursday in a written response to these criticisms that the foundation does not agree with the criticism of its decision to entrust the award to Reza Pahlavi. He said: "Among the members of the opposition of the Salami Republic, we do not know another person who currently has a similar level of infiltration and public support."