Faramarz Samandari
Faramarz Samandari | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 18, 1932 Babol, Iran |
| Died | July 14, 1980 Tabriz, Iran |
Dr. Faramarz "Sam" Samandari (February 18, 1932 - July 14, 1980) was a Persian Bahá’í who was a respected otolaryngologist and University Professor of medicine who worked in Canada and Iran. He was martyred in the wake of the 1979 Revolution in Iran.
Biography[edit]
Samandari was born into a Bahá’í family in Babol in the Iranian province of Mazandaran in 1932. His father was Agha Borar Samandari, his mother was Tavous Alavian, and he had six younger sisters. His father adopted the surname Samandari after declaring in his youth as he had been introduced to the Faith by Ṭaráẓu’lláh Samandarí.[1]
Samandari completed his education in Babol then moved to Tabriz in 1951 where he studied medicine at Tabriz University.[1] After graduating in 1958 he completed his two years of compulsory military service,[2] and upon being discharged in 1960 he moved to the United Kingdom in order to improve his English.[1]
After a brief time in the United Kingdom Samandari was awarded a scholarship to complete further medical studies in Canada where he became an otolaryngologist.[1] In Canada he studied and worked in Regina, Sakatoon, and Montreal but he remained committed to returning to Iran to raise the countries standard of healthcare. He met Canadian Anita in October 1964 while working at the University Hospital of Saskatoon and when he returned to Iran in 1967 he invited her to visit him in Iran.[3] In February 1969 she visited Iran and they married and she declared in 1970.[4]
Samandari settled in Tabriz after returning from Canada and he was appointed as a Professor of Medicine at Tabriz University, worked at the University Hospital seeing up to one hundred patients a day, and was elected to the cities Local Spiritual Assembly.[2][4] In January 1979 he moved to the United States in order to secure his families safety in light of the Iranian Revolution however he returned to Iran alone as his parents had remained in the country and he was arrested on April 22, 1980, and held in Tabriz prison.[2]
Samandari was charged with being active in running the Bahá’í centers of Tabriz, being a Zionist spy, working for SAVAK (the Shah's secret police), and spreading prostitution. While imprisoned he was put to work in the prison infirmary providing medical care for his fellow prisoners. Despite being charged he was never placed on trial instead being summoned to several hearings where he was pressured to recant his Faith and he was executed by firing squad on July 14, 1980.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://iranwire.com/en/features/70730/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://iranbahaipersecution.bic.org/archive/faramarz-samandari-executed-firing-squad-tabriz-14th-july-1980
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 603, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 603, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
