Sources currently available at the IRBDC in Ottawa indicate that activities of the Savak were known to the general population. Ervand Abrahamiam, in his book Radical Islam, indicates that in 1974 the Mojahedin, "organized a strike in the Technical College to draw attention to Savak's widespread use of torture." (Ervand Abrahamian, 1989: p 141).

Abrahamian identifies the National Security and Information Organization (Savak) as "notorious" (Ervand Abrahamian, 1989: p 13), and Delannoy and Pichard suggest that the name Savak was synonymous with "terror" (Christian Delannoy and Jean-Pierre, 1988: p 91). Similarly, Iran: a Country Study suggests that "the secret police organization, Savak, gained special notoriety for its excessive zeal in maintaining internal security (Iran: A Country Study, 1987: p. 288).

As the Monarchy began to collapse, the deaths of prominent opposition leaders were reportedly believed by many to be the work of the Savak. Dilip Hiro states, in connection with the death of Ali Sharati in England, that it "was widely believed that he had been killed by the Savak" (Dilip Hiro, 1987: p 67). Similarly, the public accused Savak for a cinema fire that killed 410 persons in 1979. (Dilip Hiro, 1987: p 74).

With respect to the activities of Savak, the official functions of the organization were, "the gathering of information necessary to protect national security; to prevent the activity of groups whose ideology is contrary to the constitution; to prevent plots against national security" (Dilip Hiro, 1987: p 41). According to Iran: A Country Study page 289, the organization developed an elaborate system to "monitor all facets of political life ... neutralized the regime's opponents", and "took appropriate measures against those who fell out of line." Savak reportedly expanded its authority during the 1970's to include the right to arbitrarily arrest and detain indefinitely, to operate its own prisons and to remain outside the scrutiny of other governmental agencies (Iran: A Country Study, 1987 p 289).

According to Amnesty International Report 1978, the level of repression instituted by the Iranian authorities decreased during 1977\78. The treatment of prisoners had reportedly improved significantly and "torture is no longer practised systematically and invariably, as it was in the past" (Amnesty International Report 1978, 1978: 255-57).
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrahamian, Ervand. Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin, London: I.B. Tauris, 1989.

Amnesty International Report 1978, London: Amnesty International Publications, 1987.

Delannoy, Christian; Pichard, Jean-Pierre. Khomeiny: La Révolution Trahie, Paris: Carrere, 1988.

Hiro, Dilip. Iran Under the Ayatollahs, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987.

Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. Iran: A Country Study, Library of Congress, 1987.