Sadegh Khalkhali صادق خلخالی |
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Head of Islamic Revolutionary Court | |
In office 24 February 1979 – 1 March 1980 |
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Appointed by | Ruhollah Khomeini |
Succeeded by | Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi |
Personal details | |
Born | 27 July 1926 Kivi, Khalkhal County, Ardabil Province, Iran |
Died | November 26, 2003 Tehran, Iran |
(aged 77)
Nationality | Iranian |
Other political affiliations |
Combatant Clergy Association |
Children | 3 |
Residence | Tehran |
Alma mater | Qom Hawza |
Occupation | Judge, Teacher |
Religion | Shia Islam |
Signature |
Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) (Persian: محمدصادق گیوی خلخالی; Azerbaijani: Sadıq Xəlxali) was a hardline Shia cleric of the Islamic Republic of Iran who is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that earned him a reputation as Iran's "hanging judge". A farmer's son and ethnic Azeri born in Givi (Ardabil Province, Iran) in appearance Khalkhali was "a small, rotund man with a pointed beard, kindly smile, and a high-pitched giggle."
Khalkhali is known to have been one of Khomeini's circle of disciples as far back as 1955 and is reported to have reconstructed the former secret society of Islamic assassins known as the Fadayan-e Islam after its suppression, but was not a well-known figure to the public prior to the Islamic Revolution.
On 24 February 1979, Khalkhali was chosen by Ruhollah Khomeini to be the Sharia ruler (حاکم شرع in Persian) or head the newly established Revolutionary Courts, and to make Islamic rulings. In the early days of the revolution he sentenced to death "hundreds of former government officials" on charges such as "spreading corruption on earth" and "warring against God." Most of the condemned did not have access to a lawyer or a jury. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Reza Shah's mausoleum was destroyed under the direction of Hujjat al-Islam Sadeq Khalkhali, which was sanctioned by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini