By Kayhan Life Staff
During a ceremony commemorating the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19, a violent clash erupted between supporters of the Islamic Republic and government opponents in London. This confrontation resulted in several Iranian protesters being assaulted, leading to severe injuries.
I visited @navidlondon031 at Ealing Hospital today. He was trying to stay strong, but it was clear he was in significant physical pain. His shoulder and back are severely injured. He is bedridden and receiving painkillers every four hours.
Navid confirmed that he has not seen… pic.twitter.com/riDfTVXkU7
— Ahad Ghanbary (@AhadX) May 27, 2024
On the evening of May 24, police in Wembley, a suburb in the London Borough of Brent, received reports of disturbances in the Alperton Lane area. Footage from the scene showed a mob of supporters of the Islamic Republic attacking opposition protesters, injuring several people.
Iranian protesters have accused the London police officers of failing to collect evidence. They claim that the Metropolitan Police abandoned them after an attack by thugs affiliated with the Islamic Republic.
Iranian dissidents have expressed their disappointment and frustration over the Metropolitan Police’s response to the attack, which occurred during a ceremony honoring President Raisi, according to the Times Newspaper.
Navid Bavi, a 32-year-old political activist, was severely injured in the attack. Agents of the Islamic Republic reportedly beat him brutally in front of the place where Raisi was being honored, resulting in him being hospitalized because of his injuries. He was discharged from hospital on the evening of June 12.
In an interview with Kayhan Life, conducted in English, Ahad Ghanbary, a Chartered Legal Executive based in London and Bavi’s friend and advisor, said: “This started with the great delays from the Met Police [which] pretty much ignored the case for many days, which I believe was because of a misunderstanding that Navid may have had minor injuries and released from the hospital, which was not the case.”
“The person who received the most injury is Navid, and he has suffered a fracture of his spine, and speaking to his doctor, this fracture is two weeks old. So, it is not an old injury. It is a new injury [that] will likely take up to six weeks to heal. Only after then they will have to do tests to see [if] he is physically able to move,” He explained.
“The case has been escalated to a police unit called Safeguarding Unit at Wembley police station,” Ghanbary added.
Photographic evidence handed over to the police reportedly shows that three people attacked Bavi.
During the assault on Iranian protesters, the older leader of the assailants, accompanied by his bodyguards or followers, reportedly engaged in a violent altercation with the demonstrators. Subsequently, the group reportedly punched and kicked Bavi.
While he was in hospital, Bavi relied on a wheelchair for mobility. In an interview with Kayhan Life, he disclosed that his spinal cord injuries had led to significant complications in his left knee. Bavi actively engaged in physical therapy and daily exercises to regain walking ability.
According to Ghanbary, the leader of the regime’s supporters in the video evidence appears to have military or specialized training.
“Can you see his feet are completely off the ground?” Ghanbary noted. “So, we believe that he [has] got military or some training [so] at that age, he could jump and headbox Navid in that fashion. That is not just some old angry guy.”
Muslim extremists reportedly threatened Bavi in the hospital. On June 5, the hospital moved Bavi to a room with four beds, where one patient was apparently a Muslim, whose visitors began reciting the Qoran loudly, prompting Bavi to voice his objection.
Bavi explained that the hospital incident was likely instigated by Muslim extremists who had identified him through the media.
“I think those who threatened me in the hospital were extremists who had seen my photo on the internet or in newspapers. One of them pulled the curtain and started insulting me. At first, he thought that my friends and I were Jewish. One of them violated the privacy of the patient, pulled the curtain between the beds, and asked me if I was Jewish.”
Bavi recalled that two of the attackers, who were Iranians, told each other, “This is an Israeli; kill him!”
After an argument in the hospital room, Bavi left angrily with the help of his friends. However, the same individual emerged from the room donning a waist bag (bum bag), hurling insults and threats at Bavi once more.
“Maybe there was a weapon or a knife inside that bag,” Bavi noted.
“We notified the nurse about the situation, but unfortunately, they took no action, prompting me to leave the room with my friends. Subsequently, we escalated the issue to the hospital authorities; however, they seemed to dismiss it as trivial,” Bavi explained. “As a result, we waited outside the room until the individual in question left the premises. Surprisingly, the same person reappeared and suspiciously reached into a bag attached to his waist. In response to this alarming behavior, we documented the incident through filming and promptly reported it to the police.”
“The case has changed now,” Bavi added.
According to Ghanbary, in a meeting with three officers at the hospital, he provided additional information and highlighted that Bavi was a victim of an antisemitic offense, underscoring the severity of the case. As a result, the police took steps to ensure Bavi’s safety by arranging for him to stay in a private room with 24-hour security and potentially assigning a dedicated nurse to his care.
Ghanbary said that in the follow-up, the police took the case seriously and acknowledged it as an exceptional situation. He added the authorities are currently investigating to identify the assailant.
Writing on X on May 27, Ghanbary said: “I visited Navid at Ealing Hospital today. He was trying to stay strong, but it was clear he was in significant physical pain. His shoulder and back are severely injured. He is bedridden and receiving painkillers every four hours.”
The post included a photograph of Ghanbary and Bavi in a hospital room.
Hospital and police personnel are examining video footage collected from CCTV cameras. Link to Kayhan.London/Persian
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