Source of Prize-Winning Execution Photo Revealed

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A government firing squad executes nine Kurdish rebels and two former police officers of the deposed Shah of Iran after summary trials, Aug. 27, 1979. The next day, another 21 Kurdish rebels and military deserters were executed.

Corbis

A government firing squad executes nine Kurdish rebels and two former police officers of the deposed Shah of Iran after summary trials, Aug. 27, 1979. The next day, another 21 Kurdish rebels and military deserters were executed.

Corbis

In 1979, the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran was overthrown by Islamic radicals, led by Ayatollah Khomeini. Later that year, a group of 11 Kurdish men were lined up and shot to death, accused of various crimes. Their executions at a municipal airport in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan, followed a brief trial during which no evidence was presented.

A photograph capturing this event was published and eventually won a Pulitzer Prize, but the photographer's identity was kept secret to protect him. An account Saturday in The Wall Street Journal reveals the photographer's name — Jahangir Razmi — and story.