A source with knowledge of the case told The Independent that there is a sense among many that the Shah’s tenure was “distinct” from that of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic, but that they are in fact “two sides of the same coin.” At the same time, they said that Islamic Republic “is a much worse violator of human rights than the government of the Shah.
Sabeti’s accusers, who are identified in court filings as John Does I, II, and III, claim the 88-year-old “planned, supervised, and advocated” for their arrests and subsequent torture, during which they were allegedly electrocuted, hung from the ceiling by their wrists, had weights hung from their genitals, whipped, beaten and forced to endure the “Apollo,” a device described in the complaint as “an electric chair with a metal mask designed to amplify the screams of the victims in their own ears.”.
Three former political dissidents now living in the U.S. are suing the Shah of Iran’s “chief torturer” – who later relocated to Florida and became a real estate developer – over years of unimaginable abuse they say continues to haunt them to this day.
In a separate affidavit, John Doe II, an 85-year-old also living in California, said he is “afraid of the Islamic Republic and its ability to silence dissidents no matter where they are in the world,” and that he believes Sabeti “would be willing and able to harm me and my family for my participation in this lawsuit.”.
Exclusive: Three former dissidents are accusing the Shah of Iran’s “chief torturer” – who later relocated to Florida and became a real estate developer – over years of unimaginable abuse they say continues to haunt them to this day.
