Moscow police broke up a gathering of Iranian citizens who on March 1 were celebrating near the Salarievo metro station what they described as the killing of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a U.S.-Israeli military operation. Dozens of attendees were detained, according to the Russian Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, novosti,” which describes itself as independent.
Police said participants chanted, “Thank you, United States of America,” ignoring orders from law enforcement to disperse.
Detainees were written up for taking part in an unauthorized rally (Article 20.2, Part 5 of the Administrative Code).
Courts imposed fines on most detainees, while the alleged organizer — a female dentist who invited people via Instagram — received 10 days in custody.
While authorities told the court that 21 people took part in the “rally,” journalists found at least 45 cases filed by the Shcherbinsky and Meshchansky district courts on similar charges against apparent Iranian citizens.
The case files are nearly identical. The Iranians denied holding a rally.
A post advertising the gathering read: “This is a celebration of joy, and you should not bring political posters or anything like that.”
In court, the author of the post said she “just organized a meeting to grill kebabs.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported killed on February 28 during a joint U.S.-Israeli operation.
