Iran’s modern history is a story of unbroken state repression. From the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the theocratic rule of the Islamic Republic, prisons have remained instruments of control, torture has been routine, and dissent has been met with bullets and gallows. The names and slogans have changed, but the machinery of oppression has persisted, crushing workers, students, journalists, and revolutionaries alike.
Parviz Sabeti, a key figure in SAVAK, the secret police of the Pahlavi regime, is one of the architects of this system. His role in mass surveillance, forced confessions, and the execution of political activists made him a symbol of state terror. Today, decades after fleeing Iran, he remains unpunished. Holding him accountable is not just about history—it is about challenging the impunity that has allowed tyranny to survive in different forms.
The fight against the Islamic Republic is not a fight to return to monarchy or any other authoritarian structure. It is a struggle to end the cycle of repression once and for all. Suing Sabeti is not just an act of justice—it is a revolutionary declaration that no ruler, past or present, should escape the consequences of their crimes.
Prison and Torture in Iran
Iran’s modern history is marked by the continuity of state repression, with prisons serving as instruments of political control. Under both the Pahlavi monarchy and the Islamic Republic, incarceration, torture, and executions have been central to silencing dissent. While the ideological justifications differed, the underlying structures of violence remained intact, evolving only in methods and intensity.
The Pahlavi dynasty, particularly under Mohammad Reza Shah (1941-1979), used prisons as tools of political suppression. While Iran saw modernization projects, industrial expansion, and a strengthened military, these developments came with the systematic elimination of opposition. The establishment of the secret police force, SAVAK (Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar), in 1957 cemented state surveillance as a primary means of control.
SAVAK, trained with assistance from the CIA and Mossad, was notorious for its brutality. It targeted leftist groups, nationalists, Islamists, and even reformist voices within the monarchy’s framework. Opposition figures, including members of the Tudeh Party, the National Front, guerrilla organizations and communist like the Fadaiyan-e-Khalq, were subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture, and forced confessions.
Evin Prison, originally built under Reza Shah, became a symbol of state terror. Prisoners described brutal torture methods, including beatings, electric shocks, rape, and the use of “Apollo” chairs—devices designed to keep detainees in excruciating positions. Executions of political dissidents escalated in the 1970s, particularly as armed resistance intensified.
Despite the regime’s repression, opposition forces gained momentum, culminating in the 1979 revolution. Many who supported the revolution believed they were dismantling SAVAK’s reign of terror, but history would prove that state violence had not been eradicated—only rebranded.
Expansion of State Violence
With the fall of the Shah, the new regime under Ruhollah Khomeini not only maintained but expanded the use of prisons and torture. The Islamic Republic systematically targeted leftists, feminists, nationalists, and even former allies who had supported the revolution but rejected clerical rule.
The early years of the regime were defined by mass executions. In the summer of 1981, thousands of political activists—many of them teenagers—were arrested, tortured, and executed. The 1988 prison massacre marked one of the darkest chapters in Iranian history. Following Khomeini’s decree, thousands of leftist and communist prisoners were systematically executed after brief interrogations, buried in unmarked graves.
Torture methods evolved but remained brutal. Women prisoners, especially leftist activists, were subjected to sexual violence. The infamous “virginity execution” policy was implemented, under which young women were raped before execution to prevent them from “entering paradise” as martyrs.
Prisons such as Evin, Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr), and Kahrizak became synonymous with torture and death. The use of solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, mock executions, and forced televised confessions became standard practice. The Islamic Republic not only adopted the Pahlavi-era’s intelligence structure but perfected it with ideological justification, branding opponents as “enemies of God” (mohareb).
Continuity and Expansion in the 21st Century
Repression in Iran has not diminished; it has adapted. Under Ali Khamenei’s leadership, state violence became more systematic. Following the 2009 Green Movement, thousands were arrested, and Kahrizak Prison became infamous for torturing protesters, leading to several deaths. After the 2019 anti-regime protests, security forces massacred at least 1,500 people in less than a week.
Since the Woman, Life, Freedom movement of 2022, the state’s use of prisons as centers of oppression has intensified. Thousands of young activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens have been arrested. Reports of rape, electrocution, brutal beatings, and poisoning of detainees have surfaced. Unlike the Pahlavi era, where repression was largely centralized in SAVAK, the Islamic Republic’s intelligence structure is more fragmented, with multiple security agencies—including the IRGC Intelligence, the Ministry of Intelligence, and Basij forces—engaging in state-sanctioned brutality.
The difference between the Pahlavi and Islamic Republic’s use of torture lies in their justification: the monarchy framed it as “modernization against communism,” while the Islamic Republic brands it as “divine justice.” But the victims—students, workers, women, journalists—remain the same.
The cycle of imprisonment and torture in Iran is not a relic of the past. It is the present. Understanding this continuity is essential in challenging both past crimes and the Islamic Republic’s ongoing oppression.
Who Is Parviz Sabeti?
Parviz Sabeti is one of the most infamous figures in modern Iranian history, known for his role as a high-ranking official in SAVAK (Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar), the secret police of the Pahlavi monarchy. From the late 1950s until the collapse of the regime in 1979, Sabeti played a key role in the surveillance, suppression, torture, and execution of political dissidents. His name is synonymous with state repression, making him a figure of controversy and revulsion among Iranians who suffered under his rule.
Born in 1936 in Sang-e Sar, Semnan, Sabeti studied law and joined SAVAK in the late 1950s, quickly rising through the ranks. By the late 1960s, he became the head of the Third Directorate, which was responsible for domestic security, censorship, and monitoring opposition groups. His work focused on crushing political movements, including leftists, Islamists, and nationalists.
Sabeti was not a mere functionary; he was an architect of repression. He introduced new methods of intelligence gathering, expanded surveillance networks, and pioneered strategies for breaking political movements before they could gain momentum. Under his leadership, SAVAK infiltrated underground organizations, arrested activists, and used extreme torture techniques to extract confessions.
Unlike many other intelligence officials, Sabeti was also a public face of the regime’s security apparatus. He gave press interviews and appeared on television, defending the monarchy’s hardline policies. His 1977 televised speech, where he accused opposition groups of being Soviet or Western agents, reflected his belief in total control over Iranian society.
SAVAK’s Brutality Under Sabeti
During Sabeti’s tenure, political prisoners faced brutal interrogation methods. Evin Prison, Qasr Prison, and Komiteh Prison became centers of torture, where detainees suffered beatings, electric shocks, rape, and mock executions. Some of SAVAK’s most notorious practices under his command included:
- “Apollo Chairs”: Prisoners were strapped into metal chairs designed to inflict excruciating pain through prolonged confinement.
- Cattle Prods and Electric Shocks: Used widely on political prisoners, particularly leftists and guerrilla fighters.
- Forced Confessions: Many detainees, after weeks or months of torture, were forced to confess on state television to crimes they did not commit.
- Extrajudicial Killings: Opposition members often disappeared, with their bodies never recovered.
Sabeti personally oversaw some of the regime’s most brutal crackdowns, including the 1975 execution of Bijan Jazani and other leftist leaders, who were falsely accused of attempting to escape and shot by SAVAK agents.
Despite international criticism of human rights abuses, Sabeti remained one of the Shah’s most trusted advisors. He was rumored to have advised the regime to take harsher measures against dissent, believing repression would prevent the monarchy’s fall.
The 1979 Revolution and Sabeti’s Escape
As the revolutionary movement intensified in 1978-79, SAVAK’s brutality backfired. Mass executions, suppression of protests, and the killing of demonstrators fueled public anger. In early 1979, as the monarchy crumbled, Sabeti fled Iran, fearing retribution. Unlike many of his SAVAK colleagues who were captured and executed by the new regime, Sabeti managed to escape to the United States, where he has lived in exile ever since.
For decades, Sabeti remained largely silent, avoiding media attention. However, in 2019, he resurfaced in an interview, defending his past actions and claiming that Iran would have been better off if the Shah had taken even more extreme measures against opposition forces. His unapologetic stance has fueled anger among Iranians, including those who suffered under his rule.
A Symbol of State Repression
Sabeti represents a dark chapter in Iran’s history. To monarchists, he is a competent intelligence officer who tried to maintain order. To the vast majority of Iranians, he is a torturer and executioner who presided over a reign of terror. His legacy is not just about SAVAK—it is about the continuity of state violence in Iran.
His survival in exile raises a broader question: Why has he never been held accountable? That question leads directly to the importance of legal action against him—a demand that has gained momentum among Iranians seeking justice.
Holding Parviz Sabeti accountable is not just about past crimes. It is a political necessity for the revolutionary movement against the Islamic Republic, because it strikes at the heart of the historical forces that have shaped Iran’s current dictatorship. The legal pursuit of Sabeti is not merely about one man—it is about exposing the continuity of state repression from the Pahlavi era to the Islamic Republic. This continuity, which many reactionary forces try to obscure, must be shattered if any genuine revolutionary movement is to succeed.
1. Breaking the Myth of the Monarchist Alternative
One of the greatest illusions being pushed today—especially by Western-backed Persian media—is the idea that the Pahlavi monarchy represents a viable alternative to the Islamic Republic. Monarchists portray the Shah’s regime as a golden age of prosperity, stability, and progress. They present the Islamic Republic as an aberration, rather than a continuation of state repression under a different ideological banner.
Sabeti, as one of the chief architects of SAVAK’s terror, is living proof that the monarchy was no less brutal than the current theocracy. Suing him forces monarchists to confront their own history. If the monarchy was a system built on torture, censorship, and executions, what makes it a legitimate alternative to the current regime?
The revolutionary movement cannot allow Pahlavi loyalists to rewrite history. Suing Sabeti exposes the fact that both the monarchy and the Islamic Republic have relied on state violence to crush dissent. This weakens the reactionary monarchist narrative and prevents it from co-opting the struggle against the current regime.
2. The Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Structure Is Built on SAVAK’s Foundation
It is a mistake to see the Islamic Republic’s repressive apparatus as something entirely new. Many of its intelligence structures were inherited from the Pahlavi state.
- Evin Prison, which became infamous under SAVAK, continues to function as a center of torture under the Islamic Republic.
- Many of the interrogation techniques used by the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Intelligence were first perfected under SAVAK.
- The Islamic Republic’s ideological justification for repression—branding opponents as “enemies of God” (mohareb)—replaces the Shah’s rhetoric of labeling dissidents as “communist agents” or “foreign conspirators.” But the function remains the same.
By suing Sabeti, the revolutionary movement exposes the deep-rooted structure of state repression that has existed across both regimes. The Islamic Republic cannot distance itself from SAVAK if Sabeti, one of its most notorious figures, is placed under legal scrutiny. This strengthens the revolutionary argument that Iran needs a complete rupture from both the monarchy and the theocracy—not a return to either.
3. Challenging the Impunity of Regime Criminals
One of the reasons Iranian state criminals—whether from the monarchy or the Islamic Republic—continue to escape justice is because of international impunity. Figures like Sabeti live freely in Western countries, despite having been directly responsible for torture and executions. Meanwhile, Islamic Republic officials with similar blood on their hands also evade prosecution.
The pursuit of legal action against Sabeti sets a precedent for holding regime criminals accountable, regardless of which regime they served. If a high-ranking official from SAVAK can face legal consequences, it paves the way for prosecuting:
- Islamic Republic intelligence officers who have overseen the execution and torture of activists in recent decades.
- Officials involved in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
- Commanders responsible for the mass killings of protesters in 2019 and 2022.
The revolutionary movement cannot afford to let state criminals escape justice simply because of a regime change. The Iranian people did not overthrow the Shah in 1979 just to see a new dictatorship take power. The same mistake cannot be made again.
4. Exposing the Collaboration Between Monarchists and the Islamic Republic
There is a reason why monarchist figures rarely talk about Sabeti. His role in torture is inconvenient for their narrative, but more importantly, it reveals the underlying unity between different factions of Iranian reactionary politics.
- Many former SAVAK agents were absorbed into the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services after 1979.
- Some monarchists have covertly collaborated with the Islamic Republic to suppress leftist and revolutionary movements.
- Both monarchists and Islamic Republic loyalists share a common enemy: a revolutionary movement that demands a rupture with all forms of dictatorship.
Suing Sabeti exposes this hypocrisy. If monarchists are truly committed to justice, they should support the prosecution of their own regime’s criminals. Their silence on this issue reveals that their opposition to the Islamic Republic is not about justice, but about power.
5. Strengthening the Revolutionary Narrative
For the anti-Islamic Republic movement to succeed, it cannot be reduced to a simple anti-regime stance. It must be a movement for justice, accountability, and liberation from all oppressive structures—whether they come in the form of a monarchy or a theocracy.
Suing Sabeti reinforces the revolutionary narrative that:
- The Iranian people have always fought for freedom, but their struggles have been hijacked by new oppressors.
- Iran’s history of dictatorship is not a battle between “good” and “evil” regimes—it is a continuity of state violence that must be dismantled.
- Any new system must be built on justice, not revenge. Holding criminals accountable, through legal means, ensures that future generations do not inherit another unpunished cycle of repression.
Conclusion: A Case That Transcends One Man
Sabeti is not the only Iranian state criminal living freely abroad. But his prosecution would send a clear message: No matter how many years have passed, no matter where they flee, those who have built their careers on torture and repression will face consequences.
For the revolutionary movement, this is about much more than SAVAK. It is about ensuring that no future government in Iran—whether secular or religious, leftist or right-wing—can rule through terror without fear of accountability.
If Sabeti is sued and prosecuted, the next step is clear: The Islamic Republic’s criminals must be next.
What you think?