"Tyranny, the Shah, and SAVAK

"Tyranny, the Shah, and SAVAK

Author: Gouya Roshan (Güya Aydın)

The Hidden Stories and Silent Sorrows at the Heart of Iran’s History

Deep within the history of Iran, stories remain concealed tales of suffering, injustice, and imposed silence. These are the accounts of lives lived in the shadows of tyranny: people who were tortured, disappeared, and forgotten.This narrative is the true story of a four-year-old child and their family—a family that breathed not in peace and safety, but in fear and uncertainty. It is a story of a silenced conscience, suppressed anger, and a truth that was never given the chance to scream.

In these lines, we speak of the simple and humane life of a family whose only crime was possessing a conscience.

At a time when the darkness of SAVAK had cast its shadow over the country, I was no more than four years old. I did not know what a prison was, nor had I heard the word “SAVAK.” That morning, my mother woke me and my seven-year-old brother and took us somewhere I would later come to know as SAVAK headquarters.

My father had been missing for months. There was no news, no letters, no sign of him—until one day, a friend brought word that he had been arrested by SAVAK.

With blind hope, my mother, with empty hands, prepared some food for him, and early in the morning we went to the doors of the SAVAK prison. After hours of waiting, there was no visit, no sign, not even a word. All we received was cruelty and oppression. A man with a cold, emotionless face said, “There is no one by that name here.” Then, without hesitation, right before our terrified eyes, he grabbed the food from my mother’s hands, smashed it against the wall, and slammed the door shut...

My father was not a political activist. He was simply a man with an awakened conscience and a heart full of kindness. But such humanity was a threat to the Shah’s regime. He was imprisoned for months without trial. His family had no news of him, no access, no hope. And when my father was finally released, he didn’t even have the money to return home—because the Pahlavi regime had confiscated all of his belongings without any legal process. But a compassionate driver, asking for nothing in return, brought him home. It was this simple conscience of the people that was the only light we saw in those dark years—not the crown, not the power, not the Shah.

The Shah, who called himself a servant of the nation, not only established and empowered SAVAK but also looted all the nation’s wealth and fled.

According to documented reports, the Shah of Iran, upon leaving the country, took 35 billion dollars in cash with him. In addition, he carried a treasure trove of jewels, including 384 suitcases, two crowns adorned with 5,000 diamonds, 50 emeralds, and 368 rare pearls.

This wealth not only secured a luxurious 47-year life for him and his family in the United States, but it also ensured that the next generations of the Pahlavi dynasty would live in luxury for the rest of their lives.

Of course, the fall of the monarchy did not end oppression. The promise of “freedom” remained a mirage. The new regime rose with the same tools of repression and the same taste of fear, turning against a people who had hoped for liberty.

Even years later, the same head of SAVAK, a man named “Khodaparast,” was executed by the Islamic regime in the city of Mahabad.

Today, the people of Iran have risen against the Islamic Republic—a regime that bears the name “Republic” but keeps alive the spirit of despotism.

And yet, unbelievably, some people in Iran still seek to bring back the son of that same treacherous Shah. While he has not only failed to learn from his father's fate, he has instead become a servant to regimes that drain the people’s blood in the same manner. Most painful of all is that some still fall for appearances and slogans, choosing lies over truth.

For if the Shah were an honorable man, he would not have created SAVAK. If he had even a trace of conscience, he would not have looted the nation's wealth. If he had been honest, he would not have feared an unarmed, humble man like my father and other conscientious souls.

This story is not just my father's tale. It is the story of thousands of decent, defenseless people who fell victim to the endless cycle of dictatorship in Iran.

My father was no hero, no revolutionary. He was just a decent man… and his fate became silence.