Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat is a memoir that provides a firsthand account of the author’s harrowing experiences as a political prisoner in Iran during the early 1980s. The Iranian Revolution, culminating in 1979, marked a seismic shift in the political landscape of Iran. The revolution led to the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, and the establishment of an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. Widespread unrest, political upheaval, and a significant transformation of Iranian society, politics, and international relations characterized this period.

Driven by dissatisfaction with the Shah’s autocratic rule, corruption, and close ties with the Western powers, especially the United States, a coalition of groups led the revolution. The coalition included leftist organizations, secular nationalists, and religious factions, all united in their desire to remove the Shah from power. However, after the revolution, the Islamic clerics, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, consolidated power, which led to the establishment of a theocratic regime.

The new regime, characterized by its strict adherence to Islamic principles and Sharia law, quickly moved to suppress dissent and eliminate opposition. The government’s actions led to widespread political purges, mass executions, and the imprisonment of thousands of political dissidents, many of whom were subjected to torture and unfair trials.