History of a chilling photograph – Iranian mass execution

Taken?Ç few months after Islamic radicals overthrew the shah government, the Sanandaj mass execution?Ç photo remains one of the most famous images of Iran. This photo was first published in Ettela’at, one of the oldest newspapers in Iran. Within days this photo appeared in all major newspapers across the world. Later the photo won the pulitzer award.

Wall street journal goes behind the scenes and covers the history of this photograph. All?Ç 27 photographs taken?Ç in 1979 are available now. From the site,

Iranian photographer Jahangir Razmi, left, took 70 pictures of an execution in Kurdistan on Aug. 27, 1979. One picture (No. 20, below) won the Pulitzer Prize. It was, however, awarded to an unnamed photographer — the only anonymous recipient in the 90-year history of the award. Mr. Razmi preserved 27 of the photos on a contact sheet and stowed it away in his home. Below are those photos — made public for the first time.