Ahmad Sayyed Javadi (; 24 June 1917 – 31 March 2013) was an Iranian lawyer, political activist and politician, who served as interior minister and justice minister. He was the first interior minister after the 1979 revolution in Iran.

Early life and education

Javadi was born into a devoutly religious family in Qazvin on 24 June 1917. The members of his family were

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

clergy and merchants. He received a law degree and a PhD in political science. Javadi was the eldest of three brothers. One of his brothers, Ali, was a journalist who worked for '' Kayhan'' newspaper. Another, Hassan, was also a journalist who served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the daily newspaper '' Ettelaat''. He was the cousin of Ziaeddin Haj Sayyed Javadi, who was a member of the

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

during the premiership of

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...

Career and political activities

Javadi, along with

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Interim government of Iran, 1979, Iran's interim government. One of the leading figures of Iranian Revolutio ...

, Yadollah Sahabi and Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, founded the

Liberation Movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperiali ...

(LMI; Nehzat-e-Azad-e-Iran) in 1961. He was appointed prosecutor of Tehran when Ali Amini was prime minister in 1961, and served for eighteen months. During the time in the office, he joined the

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...

judicial activism led by Noureddin Alamouti. When the LMI was banned, Javadi became a member of the opposition group against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in 1967, Javadi was one of the critics of Israel. In 1968, he stated "piety and spirituality have left our society. Instead our hearts have been filled with fear and darkness. We must struggle for justice and attempt to build a society that is modelled after '' madinah-ye fazeleh'' he prelude to the ideal unitarian classless Islamic society" This view was the common sentiment among Muslim intellectuals of the period in Iran. For Javadi, the solution to the problems experienced in Iranian society was the creation of an Islamic society. In 1977, Javadi was among the members and founders of the newly formed Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights. He was also one of the lawyers of Mahmoud Taleghani together with Hasan Nazih in 1977. He also defended

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Mazinani (, 23November 193318June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who specialised in the sociology of religion. He is regarded as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century. He has be ...

, and Hossein Ali Montazeri during the Pahlavi era. Following the 1979 revolution, Javadi contributed to the draft of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. He was a member of the revolutionary council and of the Islamic legislative assembly. He served as the Qazvin representative at the first Majlis from 1980 to 1984. Javadi was appointed minister of interior to the

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan. He was in office as interior minister from 13 February 1979 to June 1979. He was succeeded by

Hashem Sabbaghian Hashem Sabbaghian (; born 4 April 1937) is an Iranian politician, humanitarian, democracy activist and former parliament member. He was minister of interior in the interim government led by Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan in 1979. Later, he becam ...

in the post. In June 1979, Javadi was appointed justice minister when Assadollah Mobashery was resigned from the post. Javadi's tenure lasted until November 1979 when the interim government resigned. Javadi was cofounder of the Freedom Movement, an opposition group. He was a member of the central council of the movement.

Later years

In 1985, Javadi was detained and tortured by Iranian security forces due to his criticisms about the arrest of the opposition figures. In 2001, when he was 81 years old, he was again arrested for his opposition activities. Javadi and other oppositional figures issued a statement against the death penalty for juvenile offenders in Iran in April 2009. Javadi wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, on 18 May 2011, and stated that Khamenei was "religiously and legally" responsible for the events in Iran, criticising Khamenei's support for Ahmadinejad. Next month he issued another letter addressing Iranians. In the letter, he apologized due to his function "in the founding of the government". In May 2012, Javadi and four other significant political activists, namely Hossein Shah-Hosseini, Azam Taleghani, Mohammad Bastehnegar and Nezamoddin Ghahhari, sent a letter to Ali Khamenei in which they expressed their concerns over the killings and arrests of the opposition figures in the country. In July 2012, Javadi was banned from traveling abroad by the government of Iran.

Awards

Javadi was awarded by the Association for Defense of the Freedom of the Press with the Golden Pen Award in 2009.

Death

Javadi died aged 95 in Tehran on 31 March 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Javadi, Ahmad Seyyed 20th-century Iranian lawyers 1917 births 2013 deaths Iranian anti-corruption activists Council of the Islamic Revolution members Freedom Movement of Iran MPs Interior ministers of Iran Iranian prosecutors Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights Members of the Association for Defense of Freedom and the Sovereignty of the Iranian Nation Members of the National Council for Peace Ministers of justice of Iran People from Qazvin People of the Iranian Revolution