Sadegh Khalkhali

Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali was a Shia cleric of the Islamic Republic of Iran who 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 was born in Givi, Azerbaijani S.S.R., U.S.S.R. [now in Azerbaijan]. He is also reported to have born in Kivi, Khalkhal, 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."