Mazyar Maximilien Jazani, an Iranian-French lawyer living in Europe, has publicly endorsed Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. He joined the legal work surrounding Reza Pahlavi’s movement for political change in Iran.

His alignment with Pahlavi follows a family history marked by conflict with Iranian state authorities. He was six months old when his father, Bijan Jazani, was arrested by SAVAK. He was seven years old when his father was killed in custody. He was 13 years old when his family fled Iran due to the Islamic Republic's pursuit of his mother.

The first major women’s demonstrations against the new order took place weeks after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran in February 1979. His mother was a political activist who participated in early struggles against compulsory veiling. Authorities detained members of his extended family to force his mother to surrender.

"They arrested many of our cousins, members of our family, my aunt, many people, for the sole purpose of forcing my mother to deliver herself to death," he said. His relatives were released after authorities learned his mother and children had escaped to France.

Jazani was born in 1938. He emerged from the socialist wing of the National Front associated with former prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Jazani was arrested in 1968. He was convicted by a special military court and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

While incarcerated, Jazani wrote a short work addressing the attempted marriage of Marxism and Islam. The text warned that accommodating religious revolutionaries could strengthen clerical forces seeking to dominate the opposition. The text was smuggled out of prison. Some left-wing activists initially declined to publish the text because they feared criticism of political Islam would divide the anti-shah movement.

"He drew the attention of his comrades to the danger of political Islam. It was a very short book, but it became very well known in Iran," he said. A small faction of the Organization of Iranian People’s Fedai Guerrillas adopted Jazani’s theories in 1977.

Factions of the Tudeh Party and the Fedai organization backed the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic consolidated its power in 1981.

Jazani was killed alongside eight other political prisoners near Tehran’s Evin Prison on April 19, 1975. Authorities stated that Jazani and other prisoners were shot while attempting to escape. His death is widely regarded as an extrajudicial execution carried out by SAVAK personnel.

"There is no other word for this. They were assassinated," he said. "My father was arrested when I was only six months old. I was seven years old when he was killed without any due process while he was serving his 15-year prison sentence."

He attended Tehran’s Alborz High School, where English was his second language. He arrived in France unable to speak French. He immersed himself in French literature and philosophy before entering law school. As a young lawyer, he volunteered to represent defendants who could not afford legal assistance.

"If I am defending an innocent person, I cannot promise that he will be found not guilty. But I should at least be able to ensure that the jury or the judge hears the truth," he said. He participated in efforts to reform French criminal procedure, including proposing greater power for defense lawyers to request investigative measures. One of his proposals entered French law before being reversed by a subsequent government.

He left criminal litigation to build a practice advising musicians, composers, producers, and other figures in the arts. "I do not judge other lawyers. The defense is a fundamental right. It was only my personal choice," he said.

His endorsement of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi connects a legal professional with a history of opposition to Iranian governance to a current movement for political change. The announcement comes as PureSource News previously reported that the United States launched strikes on Iranian ports.