Sports Stars in Winter 57: 'We Are Not Savak'

In the final weeks leading up to the victory of the 1979 revolution, unsigned declarations were published that identified some sports, music, and cinema stars as Savak agents. The classifieds section in newspapers during the winter of 57 was filled with ads from cultural and sports figures denying any collaboration with the established government and expressing solidarity with the revolutionaries. Even many ordinary individuals placed ads to remind others of the coincidence of their names with local government officials! Six days before the Shah left the country, the father of Hassan Roshan, a national team striker who had recently returned from the World Cup, declared, 'My son is not Savak.' According to Hassan Roshan's father, he received half the salary of a retired sergeant from the Taj Organization. Even when he was assigned to manage the advertising section of the Taj magazine, after the magazine prospered and attracted ads, he was not paid and was dismissed to bring in his relatives. After the revolution, Roshan was also long plagued by accusations of collaborating with Savak. While playing for Al-Ahli in the UAE, he introduced himself to the Saadabad Committee in Tehran and said, 'I am willing to appear in any court to face the firing squad if there is the slightest evidence of my collaboration with Savak.' The revolutionaries at that time considered the growth of football in Iran as 'a tool of colonialism to deceive the masses,' a perspective that had also permeated the press. The newspaper Ayandegan published an article in its January 9 issue with a large, lengthy headline: 'A nation was entertained with slogans of sixes, threes, and limpers, while champions were treated like puppets.' Another note under this report was dedicated to sports officials with a blunt headline: 'They only ate and took, that's it.' In response, Olympic weightlifting champion Mohammad Nasiri stated that it was dishonorable to label him as Savak and that he feared the name of disgrace more than death. Khosrow Niakian, a national volleyball player, utilized the classifieds section of Kayhan newspaper. Nasser Hejazi and Habib Roshan-zadeh also went to the Ayandegan office to enlighten public opinion. On January 8, 57, the National Front newsletter wrote: 'Undoubtedly, Nasser Hejazi, the goalkeeper of Iran with that friendly face, has found this heavy accusation hard to bear and has been troubled by it.' The Ayandegan newspaper, in support of these two, wrote: 'Champions dare not leave their homes; fear reigns in their houses. The slandering of national heroes is the most desperate effort of the servants of colonialism.' However, the same newspaper emphasized: 'There were many whispers in the city that many of the Patalai and Sartalai had special cards in their pockets and were in contact with the secret agencies.' Sartalai was the nickname of Homayoun Behzadi, who was arrested after the revolution by boxer Parviz Badpa and transferred to the committee, but when no specific charge was proven against him, he was released after a few months. Habib Roshan-zadeh swore in a note that he was not a member of Savak. 'Some inhuman people with dishonorable methods are undermining the roots of the sincere servants of the homeland. It is possible that inhumane tricks provoke some dear compatriots. I have only served in sports and radio television for twenty years.' The media kept the shadow of accusation over sports in that tense and emotional atmosphere. Ayandegan, in its January 24 issue, considered the gifting of carpets and caviar to global sports officials equivalent to the plundering of public assets and emphasized that the Iranian Olympic Committee with this act 'laughed in the face of the oppressed nation that has risen against oppression and wastefulness.' In the description of a photo of the Iranian Olympic Committee officials, including Asghar Piravi, the vice president, and Davood Nasiri, the secretary of the committee and one of the founders of modern Iranian sports, the term 'plundering nation' was used. Hassan Rasouli, the secretary of the Asian Games Organizing Committee, was in cell number six of the Jamshidieh barracks, accused of misusing public assets during the wave of arrests by the government of General Azari. Continuing this trend and before the revolution occurred, the Tehran prosecutor's office announced regarding the misconduct of former and current sports officials that Nader Jahanbani had transferred 229 million tomans, General Khosrowani 57 million, General Hojjat 47, and Kambez Atabai 32 million tomans in currency out of the country in the past two months and are banned from leaving. A day later, Parviz Khosrowani announced to the prosecutor's office that his 'repeated written requests' for the results of the investigations regarding the accuracy of the published list had not yet yielded results. Khosrowani emphasized that if he had transferred any amount of currency over the past 30 years under any title, they should announce it. A letter penned by General Kashani was published in Kayhan newspaper stating that apart from 15,000 tomans for 'myself and my wife's pilgrimage to Mecca,' he had not transferred any other currency and had returned the remaining five thousand tomans to the National Bank. Hojjat, who was the head of the Physical Education Organization until the Montreal Olympics, reminded: 'I do not deny the financial misconduct in the field of sports. I will remain in the country and am ready to respond to all accusations in any legal authority.' Ferdowsi magazine reported the existence of an ashtray priced in five digits in the office of the head of the Sports Organization, and after the news of General Hojjat's trial was published, expressed satisfaction that the plunderers of public assets were being brought to justice. General Ali Hojjat Kashani, as he had announced, remained in the country but less than three months later was executed in Qasr prison. The accusations against him were announced by the prosecutor's office of the Pahlavi regime, but the swift trial and execution occurred in the first weeks of the Islamic Revolution. The Ayandegan newspaper, in its January 26 issue, attributed the resignation of the head of the Sports Organization 'Jahanbani' to plundering and tyranny, stating that he had 'squeezed the sports budget and now they want to run away.' A month after the revolution, General Nader Jahanbani was executed on the orders of Sadegh Khalkhali on the roof of Alavi School. The Islamic Revolution Document Center published documents titled 'Savak Reports' against Khosrowani, but no evidence against Jahanbani was presented to public opinion. The Ayandegan newspaper published an article titled 'Mr. Khadem, Sleep Time!' and quoted 'hidden circles' stating: 'In the days when the entire country was engulfed in a wave of strikes, he held the annual congress of the Wrestling Federation and organized wrestling classes for those who had come from the provinces. Perhaps he intended to form a party!' Mohammad Khadem Haghighat, one of the most reputable sports managers in Iran, was among those arrested after the revolution, but after a few months without finding even a single rial of misconduct in the financial file of the Wrestling Federation, Khadem was also released to lead a life of seclusion. A month before the revolution's victory, newspapers occasionally published articles supporting the unsigned declarations. Ayandegan published an article titled 'Nasiri, the former head of Savak, was also not Savak' signed 'a note from a colleague.' This note mentioned: 'The names of a group of athletes and entertainers have come up. The entertainers mentioned, especially from the women's class, were more surprising, as they tortured the brothers and sisters of the fighters while wearing masks, enjoying themselves. Not for money, whiskey, and the revelries of Khayyam and Hafez, and opium and heroin, but this work was a kind of entertainment and amusement for them.' On January 25, Ayatollah Taleghani's letter of protection to Ali Parvin was published. Under the letter of appeal to clear Parvin of accusations, Taleghani wrote in his own handwriting: 'Based on the investigations into his work and moral and spiritual condition, such an accusation is unworthy of this young man.' Ali Parvin's mother also stated: 'My son has set up a car exhibition in our old neighborhood with the help of his friends and is focused on his life. I don't even know what Savak means.' The accusation of collaboration with Savak or playing a role in the Pahlavi government continued for a long time after the revolution. Imam Ali Habibi, nicknamed World and Olympic Champion, was detained for a while. Reza Soukhtesaraei, the heavyweight wrestling vice champion of the world, was also identified after his arrest in the Prime Minister's office by Nasser Nabavi, a former national football goalkeeper, to be released from prison.