After years living quietly in Florida, Shah of Iran’s alleged ‘chief torturer’ must face accusations in court

Parviz Sabeti crafted a low-profile life for his family - but now he faces a $225m lawsuit over atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhere

Neighbors in the upscale Florida community of Windermere know them as Peter and Nancy, the seemingly friendly retired couple they wave to on morning walks, and who always appear to enjoy visits from their two high-flying grown daughters, one a respected professor of science at Harvard University.

Yet behind the high walls of their $3.6m lakefront mansion lies a darker, more closely guarded reality: Peter" is actually Parviz Sabeti, the alleged head of secret police and chief torturer of the former Shah of Iran's pre-revolutionary government, now facing a $225m lawsuit in Florida for atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhere.