Historical Organization
Fadaiyan-e Khalq
Fadaiyan-e Khalq
Details
Organization Timeline
The last major group of political prisoners is released
📅 20 January 1979Prison doors opened for activists from Islamist, Marxist and other opposition currents as the royal security system disintegrated.
Families welcome prisoners held under the Shah
📅 20 January 1979The releases embodied a central revolutionary demand: freedom for those imprisoned for resisting monarchy and repression.
Released activists rejoin mass politics
📅 20 January 1979Former prisoners entered a rapidly changing public arena in which diverse revolutionary organizations competed over Iran's future.
The release exposes the scale of political repression
📅 20 January 1979The return of well-known prisoners reminded the public of SAVAK, military trials and the suppression of organized opposition.
Bakhtiar extends the curfew
📅 10 February 1979The royal government attempted to confine residents indoors and regain control through martial-law powers.
Khomeini calls on people to defy the curfew
📅 10 February 1979The instruction turned mass presence in the streets into a decisive test of revolutionary authority.
Revolutionaries seize weapons and police stations
📅 10 February 1979Armed groups and residents captured state facilities as units of the security apparatus surrendered or withdrew.
Barricades spread across Tehran
📅 10 February 1979Neighborhood resistance and military defections made enforcement of royal orders increasingly impossible.