Paris gathering in memory of Shapour Bakhtiar and his secretary Soroush Katibeh assassinated by Islamic Republic Agents on 7 August 1991. One Assassin Ali Vakili Rad is said to be expelled by French government in exchange for French teacher Clotild Reiss accused of Espionage by the Islamic Republic's judiciary.
Part I ( with Manuchehr Razmara's former Health Minister in Bakhtiar's government and brother of General Haj Ali Razmara former Prime Minister assassinated by Islamic Militants in the 1950's) :
Part II:
Part III:
Part IV:
Shapour Bakhtiar Last Public Interview before his government's downfall:
Khomeiny's Triumphant Return Blasts Bakhtiar's government:
Bakhtiar in LA gathering, 1984:
Background to the Assassination:
Out of Paris, Bakhtiar led the National Movement of Iranian Resistance, which fought the Islamic republic in his homeland. In July 1980 he escaped an assassination attempt in his home in the Parisian suburb, Suresnes, which killed a policeman and a neighbor. But on 7 August 1991, Bakhtiar was murdered along with his secretary, Soroush Katibeh, by three assassins in his home. The inquest found that he was stabbed by a knife matching a nearby blood stained bread knife. Bakhtiar's dead body was not found until at least 36 hours after his death, despite the fact that he had heavy police protection and that his killers had left ID (presumably faked) with a guard at his house.
Two of the assassins escaped to Iran, but the third, Ali Vakili Rad, was apprehended in Switzerland,as well as an alleged accomplice, Zeyal Sarhadi, a great-nephew of former president of Iran Hasemi Rafsanjani, and both were extradited to France for trial. Vakili Rad was sentenced to life in prison in December 1994, although Sarhadi was acquitted.
Bakhtiar is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery, in Paris.
Hours after the assassination of Bakhtiar, a British hostage was released from Lebanon, presumably held by Hezbollah, but a French hostage was taken. Although many in the Iranian exile community speculated of official French complicity in Bakhtiar's death, the second kidnapping is said to cast a shadow over such theories, allegedly as the French would seem unlikely to support an operation that included the kidnapping of another French hostage in Lebanon, although there is no apparent connection between the two events.
Related Blogs:
Talks of possible exchange of French Clotild Reiss for Ali Vakili Rad pending French Judiciary's decision
NO BARGAIN POSSIBLE: French Foreign Minister Kouchner On Clotilde Reisse (Interview)
Iran, A Hope: Une Pensée Pour Clotilde ...
Recommended Readings:
Dialogue of murder: A cautionary tale that must not be forgotten by Cyrus KADIVAR
BOOK: New Revelations on Bakhtiar's Assassination
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decent man
by Ari Siletz on Tue May 18, 2010 11:03 PM PDTQuestion
by Arash_1970 on Tue May 18, 2010 10:41 PM PDTMr Kadivar
What is the reaction in France ? Are people outraged or is it another minor detail in everyday life of the French People ? Is this another "Vahid Gorji" affaire that will be forgotten soon ?
Shahpour Bakhiar
by Ali P. on Tue Feb 16, 2010 02:24 PM PSTA true son of Iran...
Thanks Darius jaan