Sadeq Khalkhali
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Sadegh KhalkhaliSadeq Khalkhali, Iranian Shiamullah and judge, was known as ÃÂÃÂExecutioner KhalkhaliÃÂÃÂ. Appointed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution to bring vengeance to the Shah of Iran's appointees, he sentenced some 400 former officials and army officers to death.
Khalkhali came to prominence when he presided over the trial of the shah's longest-serving prime minister, Amir Abbas Hoveida. The first hearing was in the middle of the night, and Hoveida was not permitted access to a lawyer. There was no jury. Upon losing his patience with Hoveida, Khalkhali had Hoveida summarily shot.
At the height of the Iranian hostage crisisin 1980, Khalkhali appeared on television poking the charred bodies of the crews of US helicopters on a rescue mission which crashed in the desert.
Khalkhali was appointed for two terms in parliament as a member for Qom, and was removed from power upon Khomeini's death in 1989. He retired to Qom, where he taught seminarians.
Khalkhari died on November 26 2003.