Dariush Forouhar ( fa, داریوش فروهر; 1928 – 21 November 1998) was an Iranian
pan-Iranist politician and leader of
Nation Party of Iran.
Early life
Forouhar was born in
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...
. His father was a general in
the Army who was arrested in WW2 by the British during the
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran after attempting to form an armed resistance.
Career and political activities
According to Ali Razmjoo in ''Hezb-e-Pan-Iranist'', Forouhar was one of the founding members of the original nationalist
Pan-Iranist Party of Iran in 1951 with
Mohsen Pezeshkpour. During
the Pahlavi era, he had been very active in the anti-Shah nationalist movement and was a strong supporter and close friend of the Prime Minister
Mohammad Mossadegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 1950 Iranian legislative election ...
. In the midst of post-revolutionary tensions in
Iranian Kurdistan in 1979, Forouhar was part of a delegation sent by Tehran to negotiate with Kurdish political and religious leaders. Although this delegation's recommendations were never implemented by the central government and Kurdish revolt was dealt with harshly, Forouhar's attempts to reach a peaceful settlement with
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
earned him respect among Kurds.
Forouhar served as minister of labor in
the interim government of
Mehdi Bazargan
Mehdi Bazargan ( fa, مهدی بازرگان; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government. He was appointed prime minister in February 1979 by Ay ...
in 1979.
Death
Forouhar and his wife,
Parvaneh Eskandari Forouhar, were overt opponents of
Velayet-e-Faqih (clerical theocracy) and under continuous surveillance.
[ They were assassinated in their home in 1998. The murders, which are believed to have been politically motivated, remain unsolved, although the general belief is that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence was involved and had ordered the killings.
It is thought that the murders were provoked by Forouhar's criticism of human rights abuses by the Islamic Republic in interviews with Western radio stations that beamed Persian-language programs to Iran. This "brought them to the attention of Iran's ubiquitous intelligence service."
Under pressure from public opinion, the then Iranian president ]Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 ...
formed a committee to follow up the case, which eventually asked for the resignation of the Minister of Intelligence, Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi
Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi ( fa, قربانعلی دری نجفآبادی; born 3 December 1950) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He is currently a member of the Assembly of Experts and also a member of the Expediency Discernment Counc ...
. One of the main characters behind the case, Saeed Emami
Saeed Emami ( fa, سعید امامی; né Saeed Eslami; (1958–1999) was the Iranian deputy minister of intelligence under Ali Fallahian, and adviser to the Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi. He was appointed as deputy minister in security affairs an ...
, reportedly committed suicide while in prison.
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was ...
, the lawyer of the Forouhars' relatives quoting Parastou says: "All evidence shows that my father was preparing himself to go to prison, because at the time of his slaying, his shoes had no laces, he did not wear his wrist watch and had his wallet emptied of its contents and papers except for some money."
Their murders brought to light a pattern known as the chain murders of Iran
The chain murders of Iran ( fa, قتلهای زنجیرهای ایران) were a series of 1988–98 murders and disappearances of certain Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system. The murders an ...
.
Personal life
Forouhar had two children. Son, Arash, and daughter, Parastou, are both politically active and continue to raise awareness of the plight of political dissidents in Iran. In 2009, Parastou signed an open letter of apology posted to Iranian.com
Iranian.com is a website of syndicated Iranian-related news. The website has changed ownership over time, and promotes Palestinian rights advocacy and anti-regime change advocacy.
When Javid, the original owner, started the website in 1995, he ...
along with 266 other Iranian academics, writers, artists, journalists about the persecution of Baháʼís
Persecution of Baháʼís occurs in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Ba ...
.
References
External links
*
English Page dedicated to Foruhars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forouhar, Dariush
1928 births
1998 deaths
Assassinated Iranian politicians
Government ministers of Iran
Politicians from Isfahan
People murdered in Iran
Iranian democracy activists
Nation Party of Iran politicians
National Front (Iran) politicians
Burials at Behesht-e Zahra
Candidates in the 1980 Iranian presidential election
Pan-Iranist Party politicians
Secretaries-General of political parties in Iran
Iranian nationalists