SAVAK
(ˈsævæk, ‖ ˈsavak)
[Acronym f. the initial letters of Persian Sāzmān-i-Attalāt Va Amnīyat-i-Keshvar National Security and Intelligence Organization.]
The secret intelligence organization of Iran, established in 1957 and disbanded in 1979.
| 1967 Time 6 Oct. 47/2 All candidates must be approved by SAVAK, his powerful security police. 1975 New Yorker 8 Dec. 128/2 They speak matter-of-factly of a conspiracy that includes the C.I.A. and SAVAK (the Iranian secret police) and the Sheriff of Cole County. 1976 Maclean's Mag. 17 May 41/3 This is a police state ruled over by one of the most ruthless secret police forces in the world, the dread SAVAK. 1977 Time 28 Nov. 36/2 Documented charges by both Amnesty International and the International Red Cross that Iran's secret police organization, SAVAK, had systematically persecuted dissidents. 1979 M. McCarthy Cannibals & Missionaries i. 18 SAVAK, the Shah's secret police, would scarcely have the same sociable attitude as the New York State wardens and guards. 1981 Times 13 Aug. 2/2 A former member of Savak, the Shah of Iran's secret police, killed himself..after being told he was to be deported back home. |