German Newspaper Questions Munich Police Claims on Pro-Pahlavi Rally Size

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the widely circulated German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” has described the attendance figures announced by the Munich police for a recent rally of Pahlavi supporters in the city as exaggerated. The newspaper presented this assessment in an analysis.

Munich police initially claimed that 250,000 people attended the gathering. This number was quickly amplified by monarchist media outlets and promoted as a vast display of support.

However, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung,” through a detailed examination of photographs, the venue’s area, and crowd density, has severely questioned this figure. The report, citing analyses from population statistics experts, emphasized that given the size of the square, accommodating such a crowd would have been practically impossible, requiring an unrealistically high density of people per square meter.

In response to inquiries, a spokesperson for the Munich police stated that the figure was an estimate based on “police operational experience” and that the precise calculation method was not detailed. The police stressed that the announced figure was an internal estimation for operational planning purposes and was only released due to extensive media attention. It was also clarified that such statistics are always approximate and do not claim 100% accuracy.

According to expert evaluations published in the German media outlet, the actual number of participants was considerably lower than the 250,000 figure.

Previously, numerous experts and media outlets had stated that the confirmed attendance at the Munich rally was less than 30,000 people, a fact that underscores the extent of the amplification surrounding this event. [https://media.mehrnews.com/d/2024/02/14/4/2194511.jpg?ts=1766144715760]