In the past few days, a video featuring Mehdi Khazali has been circulating on the internet. He is seen standing near the grave of a Baha'i in the religious minority’s cemetery in Tehran.
In the clip, Khazali claims that there are no restrictions on burying Baha'is in Golestan-e-Javid cemetery and accuses the community of “spreading falsehoods.”
Who Is Mehdi Khazali?
Mehdi Khazali is the son of Abulqasem Khazali, a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council who formerly served as the representative of the Islamic Republic’s founding father, Rohullah Khomeini, in an anti-Baha’i association known as Hojjatiyeh.
Abulqasem Khazali actively participated in this association from 1980 until its dissolution ordered by Khomeini. He remained one of the few government officials who openly supported the goals of the group after its dissolution.
Mehdi Khazali is the director of Hayaan publications. He gained popularity with the 1997 publication of a book titled Identity, which was based on a TV program of the same name.
The program, produced by Saeed Emami and Hossein Shariatmadari, was aired in 1996.
During the program, notable writers such as Abdul Hossein Zarkoub, Ahmad Shamlou and Mahmoud Dolatabadi were unjustly labeled as "traitors to the nation."
It also showed the “confessions” of Saeedi Sirjani, a researcher, writer and political activist critical of the Islamic Republic, as well as prominent religious activist Ezzatullah Sahabi.
Khazali was detained multiple...
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