Saeed Emami ( fa, سعید امامی; né Saeed Eslami; (1958–1999) was the Iranian deputy minister of intelligence under

Ali Fallahian Ali Fallahian ( fa, علی فلاحیان , born 23 October 1949) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He served as intelligence minister from 1989 to 1997 under the presidency of Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. Early life and education Fallahian was bo ...

, and adviser to the

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 Council ...

. He was appointed as deputy minister in security affairs and the second person of intelligence ministry when he was 32 years old. He is also considered as the designer and leader of many internal and extraterritorial intelligence operations during 90s, especially in the case of western countries,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and anti-revolutionary units. He was accused of having independently organized the assassinations of dissidents (known as the " chain murders").

Biography

Emami was born in Abadeh, near

Shiraz, Iran Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

. In 1978, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with the help of his uncle, Soltan Mohammad Etemad, to pursue his studies in mechanical engineering.سعید امامی، مردی که بر اساس شایعات با داروی نظافت خودکشی کرد
bbc persian Following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, he returned to Iran and became involved in intelligence gathering. In 1984, when the

Majlis of Iran The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...

(Iranian Parliament) approved the establishment of the Ministry of Intelligence of Iran, he joined the ministry and worked at the foreign directorate during

Mohammad Reyshahri Mohammad Reyshahri ( fa, محمد ری‌‌شهری), also known as Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik (29 October 1946 – 21 March 2022), was an Iranian politician and cleric who was the first Minister of Intelligence, serving from 1984 to 1989 in the c ...

's term. Later he was appointed deputy minister during the tenure of

. He was also the director of the ministry's security directorate.

Background

Some sources claimed that Emami was of Jewish origin, but

believes that "they just wanted to justify his arrest and torture". According to

Hamshahri ''Hamshahri'' ( fa, همشهری, "Fellow citizen"; ) is a major national Iranian Persian-language newspaper. History and profile ''Hamshahri'' is published by the municipality of Tehran, and founded by Gholamhossein Karbaschi. It is the first ...

, he was the first

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

in the Islamic Republic.

Arrest and death

In 1999, after being charged with orchestrating the Chain Murders, Emami was arrested and imprisoned. According to Muhammad Sahimi:

On 20 June 1999, it was announced that Saeid Emami had died in prison the night before. It was claimed that Emami had attempted to commit suicide by drinking a depilatory compound in the bathroom on 16 June 1999. He had been taken to a hospital and had undergone treatment, but had died on 19 June. It was claimed that he died of a cardiac arrest and because he suffered from respiratory problems. His family held a memorial service for him in which 400 people participated.

Iranian dissidents are reported to believe "he was murdered in order to prevent the leak of sensitive information about MOIS operations, which would have compromised the entire leadership of the Islamic Republic." He was later alleged to have assisted in the defection of Abolghassem Farhad Mesbahi, a former Iranian Intelligence official. Mesbahi stated he fled Iran in 1996 after his former co-worker Emami warned him of an assassination order. Mesbahi was offered asylum in Germany where he was a witness in the Mykonos restaurant assassinations trial, contributing to a German court ruling blaming Iranian government officials for the attack and issuing an arrest warrant for former Iranian Intelligence Minister Fallahian. It was implied that Emami's arrest was at least in part for this action.Assassins Turquoise Palace
Iranian, July 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emami, Saeid 1958 births 1999 deaths Deputies of the Ministry of Intelligence (Iran) People from Shiraz Prisoners who died in Iranian detention Iranian people who died in prison custody Suicides by poison Suicides in Iran Iranian assassins Iranian Holocaust deniers 1999 suicides

Biography

Background

Arrest and death

See also

References