Mehdi Rahimi

Mehdi Rahimi was born in 1921, in Tehran, Qajar Iran.

Rahimi served as deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Tehran police chief as well as the president of the Wrestling Federation of Iran. He was a lieutenant general and the last military commander and the chief of police of Tehran during the final days of the Pahlavi dynasty and before Tehran fell to the revolutionary forces of the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution.{{cite news|last=Sahimi|first=Mohammad|title=The Ten Days that Changed Iran|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/02/fajr-10-days-that-changed-iran.html|accessdate=3 August 2013| publisher=PBS|work= Tehran Bureau / FRONTLINE |authorlink=Muhammad Sahimi|date=3 February 2010}}

General Rahimi decided not to use his 30,000 loyal Immortal Guards to crush the rebellion for fear of producing civilian casualties.Zabir, Sepehr (27 April 2012). The Iranian Military in Revolution and War. ISBN 9781136812705.

File:Refah school execution (feb1979).png photographed and published to Kayhan (the execution of Rahimi, Naji, Nassiri and Khosrodad – 15 February 1979)|alt=]]

Shortly after the Islamic Revolution in February 1979 and the takeover of all military bases and police stations by the pro-Khomeini Islamists, Rahimi was spotted by a subordinate as he was walking away from a military base near Sepah Square and arrested. By his own account as stated during his televised interrogation, Rahimi was beaten and tortured by the Islamic revolutionaries, arrested and taken to Refah School in Central Tehran. The interrogation which lasted 5 hours, resulted in a death sentence for Rahimi, as well as three other high-profile generals of the former regime. Sadegh Khalkhali presided over the proceedings and announced his death sentence on the charge of "Warring with God" and "Corrupter on Earth".

Rahimi was executed by a firing squad at midnight just before 16 February 1979,{{cite web|title=Law And Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran |url=http://www.ihrv.org/inf/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/law_and_human_rights_in_the_islamic_republic_of_iran_february_through_september19791.pdf |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=3 August 2013 |format=Report |date=February 1980 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510192451/http://www.ihrv.org/inf/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/law_and_human_rights_in_the_islamic_republic_of_iran_february_through_september19791.pdf |archivedate= 10 May 2010 }} on the rooftop of Refah School, which was used as a temporary residence by Ayatollah Khomeini. He refused to be blindfolded and stated that he wanted to die like a general loyal to his commander-in-chief. It has been said that his last words were "Javid Shah" (long live the Shah) and the expression of loyalty to Iran.

Major Iranian newspapers published the news of his execution on the morning of 16 February 1979 along with gruesome pictures of his body as well as those of other executed generals. The pictures of him reflect the fact that his right arm was severed before the execution.{{cite web|url=http://www.holycrime.com/CrimeExc11.asp |title=Clergical crime, Nothing but Iran |publisher=Holycrime |accessdate=3 August 2013}}

Rahimi married twice. His first wife was a French woman, and they divorced. He was survived by his second wife, Manijeh, who settled in London.{{cite web|author=Cyrus Kadivar |url=http://www.iranian.com/History/2001/February/Rahimi/index.html|title=General Rahimi|work=The Iranian|accessdate=3 August 2013}} She was sister of Parviz Fatemi, widow of Hossein Fatemi.{{cite web|title=Revolution|url=https://iranian.com/History/2001/February/Rahimi/fatemi.html|publisher=The Iranian|access-date=25 August 2021|date=February 2001}}

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Category:1921 births

Category:1979 deaths

Category:Chiefs of Shahrbani

Category:Imperial Iranian Army lieutenant generals

Category:People executed by Iran by firing squad

Category:Military personnel executed during the Iranian Revolution

Category:Military personnel from Tehran

Category:Iranian monarchists