Prince Turki: Iranian officials must be ‘brought to justice’ Thousands voice opposition to Tehran regime at a huge gathering near Paris
PARIS: Tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in the giant auditorium in the Villepinte Exhibition Center, near Paris, on Saturday in a massive expression of support urging the world to adopt a firm approach toward the theocratic regime in Iran.
The gathering featured a large and varied selection of speakers from all over the world and across the political spectrum, including Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal and a large delegation from the Syrian opposition.
Addressing the conference, Prince Turki Al-Faisal called for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian officials to be brought to justice for their “crimes against the Iranian people,” who he described as the “first victims” of the Iranian regime.
He said he was “honored” to be at the event, which was attended by thousands of people who fled “their country because of the dictatorship of the Mullahs’ regime.”
Prince Turki explained that what made Arabs and Iranians brothers, was “not only geography, but the humanitarian relationships.”
He added: “There are Arab tribes that lived in Iran and became families, and there are a lot of Persian families who came (to Saudi Arabia) to perform their pilgrimage and also became our families.”
He said all at the conference “stood together” as they shared a “mutual history” that helped the development of human civilization.
“All the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and their neighbor Iran have always been living in harmony until the Khomeini revolution came into being in 1979,” Prince Turki added.
He said there was an “external strategy… to replace the concept of stability with the concept of coup and conflict.”
The rally focused on the prospects for democratic change in Iran and condemned the regime’s repression of human rights and record for regional intervention.