Mahmoud Akhundi, Prominent Iranian Jurist, Passes Away

Mahmoud Akhundi, an Iranian jurist known as the 'father of modern criminal law in Iran,' passed away on Sunday evening, April 2, at the age of 81. According to the state news agency IRNA, his funeral is scheduled to be held on April 4. This Iranian jurist is the author of an 11-volume book on criminal procedure, which he claims was prepared through years of study in progressive countries and research on their criminal procedure methods, along with extensive experience in the judiciary and teaching at law schools. He also compiled his life story in a book titled 'Half a Century in the Judiciary.' Mr. Akhundi was a long-time law professor at various universities in Iran, including Tehran University, Shahid Beheshti University, and Qom University. After completing his undergraduate law studies at Tehran University, he went to Neuchâtel, Switzerland, for further education and wrote his doctoral thesis on Islamic criminal law and its impact on Iranian criminal law. Upon returning to Iran, Mahmoud Akhundi worked as a judge in his hometown of Ahar and later became the head of the district court. He also held positions as an investigator in the Tabriz prosecutor's office and deputy prosecutor in the courts of Karaj and Tehran. He then joined Shahid Beheshti University as a criminal law professor at their request and later became the educational deputy of the university before moving to the United States in 1973. After returning from the U.S., Mr. Akhundi worked in the Research and Studies Office of the Judiciary and later took on parliamentary responsibilities within the judiciary. He claimed to have published two journals called 'Judiciary Weekly' and 'Judiciary Quarterly' during his time in the judiciary.