Human rights in the Imperial State of Iran
Encyclopedia
The National Assembly
of Iran, known as the Majlis
, convening as a constituent assembly
on December 12, 1925, deposed the last Qajar Shah, and declared Reza Shah the new monarch of the Imperial State of Iran.
in 1925, the constitution of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
which had resulted in a constitutional monarchy
, was for all practical purposes ignored. Reza Shah was a fierce and scheming military man who imprisoned and executed his political opponents. Torture
of political prisoners was also common .
His son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi continued in his father's footsteps, and his secret police SAVAK
were notorious for their imaginative torture methods.
Others (such as journalist Hooman Majd
) believe fear of the government and security services was much more pervasive under the late Shah's regime, and that the Islamic Republic's intelligence services, "although sometimes as brutal as the Shahs', spend far less effort in policing free political expression", inside private spaces. Another issue is whether the Islamic government's ability to repress dissent has been limited by a decline in public acceptance of government repression. According to Akbar Ganji
, "notions of democracy and human rights have taken root among the Iranian people" making it "much more difficult for the government to commit crimes." Writing about the reform period during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
Iranian-American academic Arzoo Osanloo notes that, "liberal notions of rights are almost hegemonic in Iran today." And Majd himself explains the Islamic Republic's relative tolerance by claiming that if Iranian intelligence services "were to arrest anyone who speaks ill of the government in private, they simply couldn't build cells fast enough to hold their prisoners."
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
of Iran, known as the Majlis
Majlis of Iran
The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...
, convening as a constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
on December 12, 1925, deposed the last Qajar Shah, and declared Reza Shah the new monarch of the Imperial State of Iran.
Pahlavi dynasty
With the arrival of Reza Shah PahlaviReza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
in 1925, the constitution of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...
which had resulted in a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, was for all practical purposes ignored. Reza Shah was a fierce and scheming military man who imprisoned and executed his political opponents. Torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
of political prisoners was also common .
His son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi continued in his father's footsteps, and his secret police SAVAK
SAVAK
SAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
were notorious for their imaginative torture methods.
Comparison with the Islamic Republic's reign
According to political historian Ervand Abrahamian,"Whereas less than 100 political prisoners had been executed between 1971 and 1979, more than 7900 were executed between 1981 and 1985. ... the prison system was centralized and drastically expanded ... Prison life was drastically worse under the Islamic RepublicHistory of the Islamic Republic of IranOne of the most dramatic changes in government in Iran's history was seen with the 1979 Iranian Revolution where Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...
than under the Pahlavis. One who survived both writes that four months under warden Asadollah LajevardiAsadollah LajevardiAsadollah Lajevardi, was the warden of the Evin Prison in Tehran Iran from June 1981 until 1985 when he was replaced due to complaints of other clergy. He was assassinated by supporters of the People's Mujahedin of Iran on August 22, 1998.-Career:Asadollah Lajevardi was born in Tehran on 1935...
took the toll of four years under SAVAKSAVAKSAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
. In the prison literature of the Pahlavi era, the recurring words had been "boredom" and "monotony." In that of the Islamic Republic, they were "fear," "death," "terror," "horror," and most frequent of all "nightmare" (kabos)."
Others (such as journalist Hooman Majd
Hooman Majd
Hooman Majd, born 1957 in Tehran, is currently an Iranian-American journalist and author based in New York City, from where he makes frequest trips to Iran...
) believe fear of the government and security services was much more pervasive under the late Shah's regime, and that the Islamic Republic's intelligence services, "although sometimes as brutal as the Shahs', spend far less effort in policing free political expression", inside private spaces. Another issue is whether the Islamic government's ability to repress dissent has been limited by a decline in public acceptance of government repression. According to Akbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran’s preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly...
, "notions of democracy and human rights have taken root among the Iranian people" making it "much more difficult for the government to commit crimes." Writing about the reform period during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
Iranian-American academic Arzoo Osanloo notes that, "liberal notions of rights are almost hegemonic in Iran today." And Majd himself explains the Islamic Republic's relative tolerance by claiming that if Iranian intelligence services "were to arrest anyone who speaks ill of the government in private, they simply couldn't build cells fast enough to hold their prisoners."