Manouchehr Behzadi

Manouchehr Behzadi (Persian: منوچهر بهزادی; December 6, 1927 – September 1988) was an Iranian leftist political activist and a member of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran.

Life
During the reign of the Shah, Behzadi left Iran due to the ban on Tudeh Party activities and settled in the German Democratic Republic. There, he became acquainted with his German wife, Brigitta Shtark. They had two daughters named Laleh and Azita. Manouchehr Behzadi continued his education until obtaining a doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Berlin.

In 1979, after the fall of the Shah, he returned to Iran with his family. However, due to worsening political conditions, his wife and two daughters decided to return to Germany. Nevertheless, he chose to stay in Iran to continue his political activities.

Education and activism
Until February 1948, Behzadi was a member of one of the branches of the Tudeh Party of Iran. In 1949, he became the secretary of his branch and simultaneously a member of the education and propaganda branch of Tehran's state and a member of the local committee of District 3 in Tehran. Later, he advanced to become a member of the central education branch and the central press branch. From that time, he began writing political and social articles for the Razm magazine and Mardom newspaper. Some of his later responsibilities until 1953 included being a member of the party committee at the university, a member of the general organization branch, the head of university distribution, the representative of the general organization in Fars, and a member of the local committee in Abadan and the Khuzestan state committee. From Mehr month of 1953, he was selected as the head of the secretariat of Tehran State Committee and the head of Tehran city distribution. In 1955, by the party's order, he left the country and joined the staff of the "Voice of Iran" Foundation's radio. A little later, simultaneously, he became a member of the editorial board of "Sobh-e Omid" (the temporary organ of the party), Mardom and Donya and alongside this, he engaged in activities as a member of the Western European circle and a member of the international branch.

In 1959, in the fifteenth plenum, Behzadi was selected as a member of the Central Committee, and in the sixteenth plenum, he was chosen as a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the party. During these years, he played a valuable role in organizing anti-Pahlavi regime struggles in Europe under the leadership of party nuclei in Western Europe and the United States. All the publications that the Tudeh Party published in Western Europe and the United States were under his supervision.

Arrest and execution
In 1983, Behzadi was arrested in Tehran and imprisoned in Evin Prison. According to one of his fellow prisoners, he was prevented from sleeping for sixteen consecutive days, leading to psychological disorders. He remained in prison for five years until his execution. In September 1988, Behzadi was executed in Evin Prison on charges of apostasy, anti-revolutionary thoughts, or speech.