The BBC doesn’t even bother to give fair airtime to differing (particularly conservative) political views in Britain. Yet, following the helicopter crash that killed the president of Iran, its editors decided it was right to put out a piece on what they described as the “mixed legacy” of the man widely known as the ‘Butcher of Tehran.’
Ebrahim Raisi, whose passing has been mourned by the likes of Hamas (he did support them in their fight against Israel, after all), picked up his ‘Butcher’ title due to his role in sentencing thousands of political prisoners to death.
The BBC article mentions this as well as Raisi’s ultimate responsibility for the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaking his favoured law on “inappropriate” dress. It also points to the nationwide protests that this horrific incident prompted, to which Raisi’s officials responded brutally.
But the BBC also invites readers to consider the Butcher’s depiction as “the president of the unprivileged and poor.” Its reporters note that the figure also “travelled to many parts of Iran, promising to build millions of affordable houses, reduce inflation and fight corruption.”
It’s no wonder, then, that EU leaders have been offering their “sincere condolences” following his death.
Spiked deputy editor Fraser Myers has written a stinging review of this “bizarre obituary,” which itself recognises that Raisi’s legacy isn’t exactly “mixed,” noting:
We all understand the BBC’s duty to be impartial. … But this hamfisted attempt at balance ends up severely downplaying Raisi’s brutality. It’s as if a few well-intentioned (and failed) social policies can somehow cancel out decades of violent Islamist repression.
Myers added that the broadcaster’s “undue deference” toward the Butcher is just a part of its wider treatment of “hardline Islamist figures.”
The mainstream media’s soft-soap approach to Islamism never ceases to stagger me.
Even Twitter’s ‘Community Notes’ team couldn’t help but fact-check the piece, highlighting that “Raisi’s nickname was the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ as a result of his mass murder and brutal torture of political dissidents” and that “his victims, numbering in the thousands, included children.”
BBC Rightly Bashed for “Undue Deference” Towards Butcher of Tehran
Ebrahim Raisi
Photo: Farsnews, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The BBC doesn’t even bother to give fair airtime to differing (particularly conservative) political views in Britain. Yet, following the helicopter crash that killed the president of Iran, its editors decided it was right to put out a piece on what they described as the “mixed legacy” of the man widely known as the ‘Butcher of Tehran.’
Ebrahim Raisi, whose passing has been mourned by the likes of Hamas (he did support them in their fight against Israel, after all), picked up his ‘Butcher’ title due to his role in sentencing thousands of political prisoners to death.
The BBC article mentions this as well as Raisi’s ultimate responsibility for the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaking his favoured law on “inappropriate” dress. It also points to the nationwide protests that this horrific incident prompted, to which Raisi’s officials responded brutally.
But the BBC also invites readers to consider the Butcher’s depiction as “the president of the unprivileged and poor.” Its reporters note that the figure also “travelled to many parts of Iran, promising to build millions of affordable houses, reduce inflation and fight corruption.”
It’s no wonder, then, that EU leaders have been offering their “sincere condolences” following his death.
Spiked deputy editor Fraser Myers has written a stinging review of this “bizarre obituary,” which itself recognises that Raisi’s legacy isn’t exactly “mixed,” noting:
Myers added that the broadcaster’s “undue deference” toward the Butcher is just a part of its wider treatment of “hardline Islamist figures.”
Even Twitter’s ‘Community Notes’ team couldn’t help but fact-check the piece, highlighting that “Raisi’s nickname was the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ as a result of his mass murder and brutal torture of political dissidents” and that “his victims, numbering in the thousands, included children.”
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