Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

designed to try "mainly (but not exclusively) ... high-profile" political cases, specifically those suspected of crimes such as

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

, blaspheming, inciting violence, insulting the Supreme Leader, and attempting to overthrow the Islamic government. It has been described as less regulated than ordinary Iranian courts, and tending to be more hardline and unpredictable in its judgements. In the years after the 1979

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

when it was founded to prosecute ideological enemies, the court was known for its secretiveness, for coming to verdicts with "no jury, no defence lawyers and often no evidence beyond a confession extracted ... by means of torture". From 1979-1989 the Revolutionary Court sent "more than 16,000 people" to their deaths, according to the Iran Tribunal campaign group.

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts, as amended in 1983, encompassesThe Justice System of the Islamic Republic of Iran
, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Published: May 1993 #All of the offenses against the internal and external security of the Country, combating and behaving in a corruptly manner on the earth. # Uttering slander against the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Honorable Leader. #Conspiracy against the Islamic Republic of Iran or

carrying arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

, use of terrorism, destruction of building against the Islamic Republic. #Engaging in

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

for aliens. #All crimes involving smugglings and narcotic items. #The cases pertinent to Article 49 of the Constitution of Iran. Disputes over jurisdiction between the Revolutionary Courts and Iranian Penal Courts are resolved by the Iranian Supreme Court. To date, according to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, "it appears that there is a tendency to extend the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts to all offenses which in the opinion of the authorities are not punished severely enough." The trials are not public, there is no jury, and a single judge decides the matter at hand. Information on the trial is disclosed at the discretion of the government.

History

Revolution

The revolutionary courts were created shortly after the overthrow of the monarchy and the arrival of Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

in Iran. The general goal of the court is thought to have been to seek vengeance against officials of Shah's regime (particularly

SAVAK The Bureau for Intelligence and Security of the State (), shortened to as SAVAK () or S.A.V.A.K. () was the secret police of the Imperial State of Iran. It was established in Tehran in 1957 by national security law. and continued to operate un ...

) – as many revolutionaries had lost friends and family members at the hands of the government – and to eliminate military and civilian leaders who might foment a counter-revolution against Islamic rule. The first tribunal was convened secretly in Refah School in southern

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

where Khomeini had set up his headquarters. The first four death sentences were issued by Hojjat al-Islam

Sadegh Khalkhali Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (; 27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) was an Iranian Shia cleric 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 ...

, approved by Khomeini, and carried out in the early hours of February 16, 1979. By early November, 550 people – mostly military and SAVAK – had been sent to the firing squads by revolutionary tribunals. Revolutionary Tribunals were set up in the major towns, with two courts in the capital of Tehran – one each in the prisons of Qasr and

Evin Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran. The district consists of an old section filled with orchards and gardens of old houses and a new section with high rises and skyscrapers. It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University campus. It is ...

, and one traveling tribunal for Sadegh Khalkhali who was known for handing out many death sentences. The courts presiding judges were clerics appointed by Khomeini himself. At least at first, the revolutionary courts differ from standard Western law courts by limiting trials to a few hours, sometimes minutes. Defendants could be found guilty on the basis of "popular repute." The concept of a

defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

was dismissed as a "

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

absurdity." A charge that was widely applied against defendants but unfamiliar to some was

Mofsed-e-filarz ''Mofsed-e-filarz'' (, also ''Mofsed fel-Arz'', ''Afsad-i fil Arz'', or ''fasad-fel-arz'', ''Al-Mufsid fi al-Arḍ'', also ''fasad fi 'l-ard''; ) is the title of capital crimes, or the person guilty of them, in Iran, which has been translated in ...

, or "spreading corruption on earth". This covered a variety of offenses – "insulting

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and the clergy," "opposing the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

," "supporting the Pahlavis," and "undermining Iran's independence" by helping the 1953 coup and giving capitulatory privileges to the imperial powers".

Abrahamian, Ervand Ervand Abrahamian (; ; born 1940) is an Iranian-American historian of the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Early life Ervand Vahan Abrahamian wa ...

, ''Tortured Confessions'', University of California Press, 1999, p.125 The secrecy, vagueness of charges, lack of opportunity for defendants to defend themselves came under criticism from people such as Ayatollah

Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari Sayyid Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari (), also spelled Shariat-Madari (5 January 1906 – 3 April 1986), was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He favoured the traditional Shiite practice of keeping clerics away from governmental positions and was a crit ...

Hassan Tabatabai-Qomi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi (; ; also Seyyed Hassan Qomi, 1912–2007) was a prominent Shia marja' who (despite his name) was born in Najaf but lived in Mashhad, Iran. He was the son of Seyyed Hussein Qomi, and the brother of Seyy ...

and Prime Minister

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 ...

. But the court's swift and harsh sentences also had strong support from both Islamists and leftist groups such as the

Tudeh party The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize ...

and

People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) (), is an Iranian dissident organization. It was an armed group until 2003, afterwards transitioning into a politica ...

. Khomeini responded to complaints saying that "criminals should not be tried, they should be killed". Judge Khalkhali stated "The revolutionary courts were born out of the anger of the Iranian people and these people will not accept any principles outside Islamic principles". Attempts by Bazargan to appeal to Khomeini to restrict the courts only led to the courts becoming "stronger and more firmly entrenched".

Since 1980

According to political scientist and historian

Ervand Abrahamian Ervand Abrahamian (; ; born 1940) is an Iranian-American historian of the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Early life Ervand Vahan Abrahamian wa ...

, the Revolutionary Courts participated in the secret mass killings of thousands of imprisoned members of the

and other leftist organizations in 1988. Although the Revolutionary Court normally deals with major economic and security crimes, in 2006 it was scheduled to try Cartoonist Mana Neyestani and his editor-in-chief Mehrdad Qassemfar "for inciting ethnic unrest" after a Neyestani cartoon triggered protests and violence among the Azerbaijani-speaking population in northwestern parts of Iran after appearing in a weekly supplement "Iran Jomeh." In the 21st century some prosecutions by the Revolutionary Court includes: *Iranian-American

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

reporter

Jason Rezaian Jason Rezaian (; born on March 16, 1976) is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran news bureau, bureau chief for ''The Washington Post''. He was convicted of espionage in a closed-door trial in Iran in 2015. On July 22, 2014, Irania ...

was arrested and tried and convicted in a closed-door revolutionary court trial. He was sentenced to an undisclosed prison sentence on November 22, 2015, but released in prisoner exchange on January 16, 2016. On the same day of his release, America released $1.7 billion in frozen Iranian accounts. *Academic

Hashem Aghajari Seyyed Hashem Aghajari (, born 1957) is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the government of the Islamic Republic who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostasy for a speech he gave on Islam urging Iranians to "not blind ...

, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court in the western city of Hamedan after delivering a speech critiquing the Islamic Republic doctrine of Guardianship of the Jurisconsult, and the religious doctrine of emulation (

taqlid ''Taqlid'' (, " imitation") is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Cla ...

), which calls on every Shiite to follow a high-ranking cleric as his or her source of emulation. His verdict was eventually overturned and Aghajari released after paying a large fine. *Three Iranian Christians (Victor Bet Tamraz, Amin Afshar Naderi, and Hadi Asgar) who were convicted of "conducting evangelism" and carrying out "illegal church activities" in 2017 and each received "a provisional sentence" of 10 years in prison.

References

External links