Son of Iran's shah receives 'Freedom Prize' in Frankfurt

18,000 people gathered in Frankfurt to show support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Iranian monarch ousted in 1979. Factions in the opposition have accused him of not distancing himself from his father's rule. Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi on Saturday received a "Freedom Prize" in Frankfurt in the central German state of Hesse .

The event was held at St Paul's Church. The building hosted the Germany's first-ever elected parliament in 1848-1849 , known as the Frankfurt Assembly. Pahlavi is the son of the last shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi , an autocrat who fled into exile after being deposed in a 1979 revolution.

The 1979 revolution was followed by the transformation of Iran into an Islamic republic and the consolidation of power around the Shiite Muslim clergy. Pahlavi was handed the prize by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is tied to the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) .