Iran's former monarchy's crown prince receives Freedom Prize in Germany... Criticism of “dictatorship symbols”

AFP reported that Reza Pahlavi, the last crown prince of the Pahlavi monarchy that fell in Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, received the 'Freedom Award' awarded to the Iranian people in Germany as a representative on the 7th (local time).

This award was given by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a civic group close to the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP).

At the award ceremony, Reza Pahlavi said, "Iran is not a country where democracy must be learned, but a country that is blocked from practicing democracy. If a citizen is prepared to sacrifice their life for the right to vote, they are also willing to exercise that right."

He then mentioned the anti-government protests that took place nationwide in Iran in January of this year.

AFP reported that about 25,000 people gathered in Frankfurt, where the awards ceremony was held, to welcome Reza Pahlavi, waving the pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flag, but there were also voices of criticism.

The Association of Germans and Iranians in the German state of Hesse pointed out that Reza Pahlavi was a "symbol of the dictatorial monarchy of the past," while the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Frankfurt branch of the Green Party criticized him, saying he could not represent the Iranian people.

Reza Pahlavi claimed he received the award as a "trustee" only until Iran had a democratically elected government.

The Pahlavi monarchy, which was close to the West, is criticized for suppressing critics, restricting political freedom through censorship and surveillance, mobilizing the secret police (Sabak), violating human rights, and governing dictatorially.

Reza Pahlavi was studying in the United States during the Islamic Revolution, and when the monarchy was overthrown, he could not return to his country and began living in exile.

Pahlavi, who criticizes Iran's theocratic regime abroad and argues that it should be replaced with a constitutional monarchy or a republic through a referendum, is sometimes mentioned as an alternative to the Islamic Republic system, but support is not high within Iran.