Iran: 1. Treatment of former members of SAVAK; 2. Treatment of former Embassy staff (pre-revolution)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IRN3490 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iran: 1. Treatment of former members of SAVAK; 2. Treatment of former Embassy staff (pre-revolution), 1 January 1990, IRN3490, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad8510.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1. Many former members of SAVAK were executed in the months following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. [ Please refer to the Amnesty International attachment, Law and Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, AI Index: MDE 13/03/80, February 1980.] Immediately after the Shah was deposed in February 1979, Islamic Revolutionary Tribunals were set up in 64 locations to "try persons who had held positions of authority under the government of the Shah". [ United Nations Economic and Social Council, "Information Relating to Violations of Human Rights in Iran Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political", Document E/CN.4/1983/19, Commission on Human Rights, 39th Session, 22 February 1983, cited in Human Rights Internet Reporter, vol. 8: 4/5 April to June 1983, p. 605.] The Revolutionary Tribunals were also given jurisdiction over "anti-revolutionary" or "counter-revolutionary" offenses, and handed down death sentences for at least 109 separate types of offence, including, "war against God", membership in opposition groups and membership in the former regime. [ E/CN.4/1983/19, HRI Reporter, vol.8:4/5, pp. 606-607.] When SAVAK officers were tried by the Revolutionary Tribunals of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they were "tried with no counsel, no access to the public, and no recourse to appeal". [ Ervand Abrahamian, Radical Islam, the Iranian Mojahedin, (London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1989), p. 53.] Amnesty International alleges that torture of political prisoners is widespread, [ Amnesty International, Iran: Amnesty International Briefing, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1987), p. 1.] and in a report published in 1987, the human rights organization observed that former SAVAK members are still among the prisoners to be found in Iranian prisons. [ Ibid, p. 4.]
There have been many executions of political prisoners in Iran during the last year. Between July 1988 and February 1989, Amnesty International recorded the names of over 1,700 reported execution victims; more than 900 persons were executed between January and May 1989. [ Amnesty International, Fear of Execution, AI Index: MDE 13/11/89, 10 February 1989; Over 900 Executions Announced in Five Months, AI Index: MDE 13/19/89, June 1989. Amnesty International, Iran: Mass Executions of Drug Traffickers Continue, AI Index: MDE 13/20/89, 24 August 1989.]
On 19 August 1989, 79 persons were executed on drug charges, however, Amnesty International received allegations that there were persons executed for their political beliefs (supporters of groups opposed to the government of Iran) among the drug traffickers. [ Amnesty International, Iran: Political Prisoners Reportedly Executed as Drug Traffickers, AI Index: MDE 13/21/89, 15 September 1989.] Part of the recent upsurge in the execution of political prisoners is attributed to the Interior Minister, Mohtashemi, who allegedly ordered the execution of a number of political prisoners who had escaped execution in the past. [ Gwynne Dyer, "Iranian Radicals Drive Moderates to Hard Lines", The Gazette [Montreal], 17 July 1989.] None of the reports mentions whether former members of SAVAK are among the political prisoners currently being executed.
Please see the attached articles:
- Ervand Abrahamian, Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin, London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1989.
- Amnesty International, Iran Amnesty International Briefing, London: Amnesty International Publications, 1987, AI Index: MDE 13/08/87.
- Amnesty International, Law and Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, London: Amnesty International Publications, February 1980.
2. No information on the treatment of former Embassy employees or diplomatic staff could be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. Although the first few months of consolidation for the new regime led to the deaths or imprisonment of many people associated with the Shah's regime, the number of executions lessened over time. According to an Iranian historian, Dr. Shaul Bakhash, people who held high office during the monarchy might now have difficulty working in the public sector for the current regime, and they might also face travel restrictions. [ Dr. Shaul Bakhash, George Mason University, 15 January 1990.]