February 26, 2025

Three political prisoners from the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi have filed a lawsuit in a court in Orlando, USA, suing Parviz Sabeti, a high-ranking official and head of the Third Department of SAVAK (Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State), for his role in the torture and abuse of political prisoners. This lawsuit, which was filed under United States law, is the first official action at the international level to hold one of the Shah's security officials accountable for the repression, torture, and crimes committed during that era.

Parviz Sabeti was one of the architects of torture in SAVAK and one of the main perpetrators of the suppression of the freedom movement during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah. Not only did he play a direct role in planning and conducting systematic and inhuman torture against political prisoners, but he was also responsible for the murder of Bijan Jazani and eight other political prisoners in the Evin Hills in 1975. Many political activists, including members of leftist and progressive organizations such as the Fadaian Khalq, the Mujahedin Khalq, the National Front, and other groups opposed to the Shah’s rule, as well as intellectuals, artists, and freedom-loving students, were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during the period when Sabeti was in charge of SAVAK’s internal security.

This lawsuit is not just an action by the three former political prisoners, but a major step in the path of achieving justice and historical enlightenment about the crimes of SAVAK and the role of security officials of that era. Although this lawsuit is against a SAVAK official of the previous regime, if it comes to fruition, its outcome will be forward-looking and in itself a clear message to the torturers and oppressors of the Islamic Republic regime. It is a message that crimes, repressions, and tortures will neither be forgotten nor subject to the passage of time.

The Left Party of Iran welcomes the fair trial of Parviz Sabeti, which is to be held in order to achieve the rights of the victims of the Shah's regime's repression and to administer justice and evaluates it as a positive step towards achieving the truth. Thus, our party invites all former political prisoners who were persecuted during the Pahlavi era to help advance the fair process of this trial by providing testimony, documents, and legal and media assistance. Undoubtedly, the more the voices of those seeking justice are united in this movement, the more hope there will be for this trial to bear fruit.

Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
February 26, 2025