Sadegh Khalkhali

Sadegh Khalkhali
Personal life
Born
Mohammed-Sadeq Sadeqi Givi

(1926-07-27)27 July 1926
Died26 November 2003(2003-11-26) (aged 77)
Resting placeFatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom
Children3
Alma materQom Seminary
Other namesHanging Judge
Religious life
ReligionShia Islam
ProfessionJudge; Executioner; Cleric
Sadegh Khalkhali
Head of Islamic Revolutionary Court
In office
24 February 1979  1 March 1980
Appointed byRuhollah Khomeini
Succeeded byHossein Mousavi Tabrizi
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office
28 May 1980  28 May 1992
ConstituencyQom
Majority106,647 (54.8%)
Member of the Assembly of Experts
In office
15 August 1983  21 February 1991
ConstituencyTehran province
Majority1,048,284 (32.87%)
Personal details
Political party

Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (Persian: محمدصادق گیوی خلخالی; 27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) was an Iranian Shia cleric who is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that earned him a reputation as Iran's "hanging judge". A farmer's son from Iranian Azeri origins was born in Givi, Azerbaijani SSR, in the Soviet Union (now in Azerbaijan). He is also reported to have been born in Kivi, in the Khalkhal County, Iran (ergo his name). Khalkhali has been described as "a small, rotund man with a pointed beard, kindly smile, and a high-pitched giggle" by The Daily Telegraph.