Sadegh Khalkhali

Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali was an Iranian Shia cleric who was the Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Court from 1979 to 1980. He is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that earned him a reputation as Iran's "hanging judge". A farmer's son from Iranian Azeri origins, Khalkhali was born in Kivi, in the Khalkhal County, Iran. Khalkhali has been described as "a small, rotund man with a pointed beard, kindly smile, and a high-pitched giggle" by The Daily Telegraph.