Iranian Exiles Protest, Demand Raisi’s Prosecution

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iranian Exiles Protest, Demand Raisi’s Prosecution

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Supporters of Iran's exiled opposition rallied in Berlin and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the prosecution of newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi whom they accuse of crimes against humanity.

Flag-waving demonstrators rallied at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and other locations as part of a Free Iran World Summit that featured speeches by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Reuters reported.

In a keynote address, Maryam Rajavi, president elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accused Raisi of being the "henchman" responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said Raisi's election was a blow for human rights and called for him to be investigated over his role in what they and Washington have called the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners.

In an online address, Pompeo described the Iranian presidential election as "in fact, a boycott and the regime knows it". "This is a show laid bare for the entire world to see," Pompeo said.

Pompeo denounced Raisi as a leader who had been hand-picked by Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei to "inflict pain, frighten, continue to loot, and to plunder".



Vehicle Smashes Through Illinois Building, Killing 4 Young People and Injuring Others

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
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Vehicle Smashes Through Illinois Building, Killing 4 Young People and Injuring Others

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)
Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, III. (AP Photo/ John O’Connor)

A car smashed through a building Monday afternoon, killing four young people and injuring several others during an after-school program in a small city outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said.

Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. to calls about a vehicle ramming through the building, fatally hitting four people before exiting the other side, Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter said.

Those killed were between the ages of 4 and 18, Illinois State Police said in an emailed statement. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon identified the victims as “female students,” saying their identities will be released after family members are notified. Several other people were hurt and taken to hospitals, reported The Associated Press.

It wasn’t immediately known what led up to the crash or whether it was intentional.

Monday's crash is the latest instance of people driving vehicles into groups of people across the globe. Only two days earlier, a car plowed through a crowded street during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, killing 11.

The Illinois driver, who was uninjured, was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, Tarter said. Police haven't said if the driver was arrested or taken into custody.

“I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing – something that no parent should ever have to endure.”

He said his office was monitoring the situation and was ready to lend support.

The struck building and facilities house Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors, which holds after-school programs and summer camps, according to its website.

As evening fell, police cars with lights flashing still blocked streets leading to the building. On its Facebook account, the Chatham Police Department asked for prayers.

“A terrible tragedy has occurred here that has affected all of us,” the message ended.

By Monday night, some members of the community and beyond had changed their Facebook profile photos to an image of a red ribbon and the words “Chatham Strong.”