Hamid Ashraf
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Hamid Ashraf ( fa, حمید اشرف; December 31, 1946 – June 29, 1976) was one of the original member and later the leader of the
Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas The Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG; fa, سازمان چريک‌های فدايی خلق ايران, Sāzmān-e čerikhā-ye Fadāʾi-e ḵalq-e Irān), simply known as Fadaiyan-e-Khalq ( fa, فداییان خلق, Fad ...
(OIPFG) that waged a guerrilla warfare against the former Pahlavi regime in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
from February 8, 1971, till February 11, 1979, the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
's fall. Hamid Ashraf played a key role in consolidating the OIPFG as a militant armed organisation against the Shah's regime.


Personal life

Hamid Ashraf was born in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
to an educated middle-class family. He was raised in Tehran and, for a few years, in
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
. He entered Tehran University, first as a physics students and then engineering. He was already involved in politics as a member of a newly formed underground leftist group called Jazani-Zarifi group in the Iranian left history. He was active in student movement as well as in sports, being the head of swimming team at the school of engineering at Tehran University. He had just been introduced to Bijan Jazani by his friend Farrokh Negahdar in 1965. This was when Jazani-Zarifi group, a leftist circle preparing for waging a guerrilla warfare in Iran against the regime. However, Jazani-Zarifi group was discovered by the secret police in 1968. Hamid Ashraf and a number of members were not disclosed to the SAVAK and survived the crackdown.


Armed Struggle

In 1968 the leadership of Jazani group was imprisoned before they had a chance to actually start an armed uprising. From that point on Ashraf played a key role in keeping the group together and preparing it for action. On February 8, 1971, the mountain guerrilla band of the group under the command of Ali Akbar Safaei Farahani launched an attack on the police station in
Siahkal Siahkal ( fa, سياهكل, also Romanized as Sīāhkal, Seyāh Kal, Sīāh Kal, and Sīyāh Kal; also known as Sīāhkal Maḩalleh) is a city and capital of Siahkal County, Gilan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republ ...
in
northern Iran Northern Iran consists of the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains. It includes the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. (Ancient kingdom of Hyrcania, medieval region of Tabaristan). The major provinces, Gilan ...
. Soon after the operation, which practically started a new era of armed struggle against the Shah's regime, Hamid Ashraf went into hiding. For the next five years, under his leadership the OIPFG solidified its underground network and expanded its operations including high profile assassinations of some military and security officers. Because of his track record in avoiding ambushes and his long survival under intense persecution, he had become an "obsession" to the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
. After a long and elaborated planning by the Shah's secret police SAVAK on June 29, 1976, the safe house where he and a number of members of cadres of OIPFG were captured alive. He was shot dead while on the roof seemingly trying to make his escape from the ambush. Following this incidence the OIPFG only managed to survive with minimal activities until the 1978-79 revolution took place. Two pamphlets written by Ashraf have been published: "A three-year Review", and "An Analysis of One Year of Urban and Mountain Guerrilla Warfare: How did the Siahkal Insurrection Begin?


References


Sources




The Left in contemporary Iran: ideology, organisation, and the Soviet connection
By Sepehr Zabih * https://www.marxists.org/archive/hamid-ashraf/works/urban-mountain.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashraf, Hamid 1976 deaths Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas members 1946 births Politicians from Tehran People killed by SAVAK 20th-century Iranian politicians