"Neighbors in the upscale Florida community of Windermere know them as Peter and Nancy, the seemingly friendly retired couple they wave to on morning walks, and who always appear to enjoy visits from their two high-flying grown daughters, one a respected professor of science at Harvard University. Yet behind the high walls of their $3.6m lakefront mansion lies a darker, more closely guarded reality: Peter is actually Parviz Sabeti, the alleged head of secret police and chief torturer of the former Shah"
"In court filings, the plaintiffs say they were among thousands of people rounded up as perceived opponents of the shah by Savak, Iran's notoriously brutal internal security and intelligence agency, and subjected to abuses at Sabeti's personal direction including rape, electric shocks, near-drownings and forced nail extraction. One particularly barbaric piece of equipment, they allege, was Apollo, an electric chair named after the early US space program, which featured a metal helmet that amplified victims' screams into their own ears."
An 89-year-old man living under the name Peter in Windermere, Florida, is identified as Parviz Sabeti, alleged former head of Savak and chief torturer under the shah. Three plaintiffs who describe themselves as former political prisoners have filed a $225 million lawsuit in Florida alleging torture and other abuses directed by Sabeti. The plaintiffs allege rape, electric shocks, near-drownings, forced nail extraction, and use of an electric chair called Apollo that amplified victims' screams. A district court judge ruled that Sabeti must face trial. Sabeti has previously denied that Savak tortured detainees and said he opposed torture.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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