GARDAÍ ARE launching an investigation into an incident at a Dublin think tank during which two protesters were manhandled by Iranian security guards after they disrupted an address by Iran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Reza Shiraz, one of two Iranian dissidents who heckled Mr Mottaki during his presentation at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), is making a complaint of assault following his treatment by the Iranian security guards. The Garda will take statements from several people who were at the event, attended mostly by diplomats and academics.
Mr Shiraz and the other protester, Shaho Zamani, both of whom came to Ireland to claim political asylum some years ago, managed to gain entrance to the gathering, despite the fact IIEA events are normally only open to members and guests.
Shortly after Mr Mottaki began, Mr Shiraz began shouting “dictator, dictator”. He was manhandled by Mr Mottaki’s two bodyguards before he was ejected. Mr Shiraz said he was treated in hospital for bruising and cuts to the mouth. Some time later, Mr Zamani began heckling Mr Mottaki about the execution of Kurdish political prisoners in Iran. He too was grabbed by Mr Mottaki’s bodyguards before gardaí, who were monitoring a protest outside, intervened to escort him out.
Last week, Iran's ambassador to Ireland, Ebrahim Rahimpour, told The Irish TimesMr Mottaki's bodyguards acted only because "Irish security had slipped". He said there were serious questions over how the two protesters were able to gain entrance to the event.
In a letter published in The Irish Timesyesterday, Mr Rahimpour raised his concerns. "Unfortunately there was no security present within the IIEA and if the Iranian security had not been present, a sad incident could have ruined the reputation of Ireland and the [IIEA]," he wrote. "Paying attention to two Iranian security men who have acted on duty instead of the local security authorities misdirects public opinion."
The incident has featured on Iranian diaspora websites and blogs. Footage of the men being manhandled has been viewed on YouTube over 40,000 times. It has also been broadcast on US-based Iranian TV channels.