Ahmad Sayyed Javadi ( fa, احمد صدر حاج‌سیدجوادی; 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 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 dynas ...

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 Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

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 ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

, 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 highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the daily newspaper ''

Ettelaat ''Ettela'at'' ( fa, اطلاعات, Ettelâ'ât, ) is a Persian language daily newspaper of record published in Iran. It is among the oldest publications in the country, and the oldest running Persian daily newspaper in the world. The paper has ...

''. He was the cousin of Ziaeddin Haj Sayyed Javadi, who was a member of the Majlis during the premiership of

Mohammad Mosaddegh 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 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...

Career and political activities

Javadi, along with Mehdi Bazargan,

Yadollah Sahabi Yadollah Sahabi (25 February 1905 – 12 April 2002) was a prominent Iranian scholar, writer, reformist and politician. A close associate of Mohammad Mosaddegh and Mehdi Bazargan, Sahabi was an active campaigner for the nationalization of the Ira ...

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-imperial ...

(LMI; Nehzat-e-Azad-e-Iran) in 1961. He was appointed prosecutor of Tehran when

Ali Amini Ali Amini ( fa, علی امینی; 12 September 1905–12 December 1992) was an Iranian politician who was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He held several cabinet portfolios during the 1950s, and served as a member of parliame ...

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 meas ...

judicial activism led by

Noureddin Alamouti Noureddin Alamouti ( fa, نورالدین الموتی) (1901–1965) was an Iranian judge and politician. He served as the justice minister under the cabinet of Ali Amini, during which he was noted for forming a powerful anti-corruption division ...

. When the LMI was banned, Javadi became a member of the opposition group against

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 Octobe ...

. Following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

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 The Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights ( fa, جمعیت ایرانی دفاع از آزادی و حقوق بشر) was an Iranian organization that was founded in 1977. Establishment At the initiative Abolfazl Zanjani ...

. He was also one of the lawyers of Seyyed Mahmoud Taleghani together with Hasan Nazih in 1977. He also defended Ali Khamenei,

Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Mazinani ( fa, علی شریعتی مزینانی, 23 November 1933 – 18 June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intell ...

, and

Hossein Ali Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری‎ ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leade ...

during the

Pahlavi era The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

. Following the 1979 revolution, Javadi contributed to the draft of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. He was a member of the

revolutionary council A workers' council or labor council is a form of political and economic organization in which a workplace or municipality is governed by a council made up of workers or their elected delegates. The workers within each council decide on what thei ...

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, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

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 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 Hossein Shah-Hosseini ( fa, حسین شاه‌حسینی) was an Iranian politician who served as the head of the Physical Education Organization, as well as the National Olympic Committee during the interim cabinet of Mehdi Bazargan. A leadin ...

Azam Taleghani Azam Taleghani ( fa, اعظم طالقانی; 1943 – 30 October 2019) was an Iranian politician and journalist who was the head of the Society of Islamic Revolution Women of Iran, editor of '' Payam-e-Hajar'' weekly, and a member of the Irania ...

, 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