Gholam Hossein Mirza Saleh is a writer, translator and historian who was arrested in Iran in the 1990s. Following his arrest, he was filmed giving a forced confession which was broadcast on national television by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network on a program called Hoveyat/Identity.

As a student, Mirza Saleh graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the National University of Iran, now Shahid Beheshti University. He went on to study for his doctorate at the University of Oxford. Mirza Saleh then returned to Iran where he became a professor of political science at the National University. From 1981, he wrote books and translated foreign texts on his speciality subject, the histories of Qajar and Pahlavi Iran.

Mirza Saleh’s book “Reza Shah," considered to be one of his most important works, discusses Reza Shah’s life through the memoirs of Suleiman Behboodi, Shams Pahlavi and Ali Izadi, all of whom were close associates of Reza Shah.

In 1996, Gholam Hossein Mirza Saleh was arrested by agents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. He was transferred to Evin Prison where he was subjected to intense interrogations and torture.

The reason for Mirza Saleh’s arrest has never been disclosed, however, his forced confession and the forced confessions of Saeedi Sirjani and Ezzatollah Sahabi suggest that the security forces goal during this period was to intimidate and suppress Iranian intellectuals and critics of the Islamic Republic.

Saeed Emami, then deputy minister of the Ministry of Intelligence and one of the main perpetrators of the infamous Chain Murders in Iran, a series of political assassinations carried out between 1988 and 1998 by the Iranian government against critics of the Islamic Republic, and Hossein Shariatmadari, the managing director of Kayhan, a hardline conservative newspaper closely aligned with the Supreme Leader, were the main producers of the Hoveyat/Identity television program which was used to broadcast the forced confessions of the three aforementioned writers.

Ahmad Pournejati, then vice director-general of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) network, spoke about these forced confessions at the time, saying; “The Hoveyat/Identity television programme was not produced by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network. Instead, parts were produced from within the Ministry of Intelligence, under the leadership of Saeed Emami, and the other parts were produced by the editorial office of the Kayhan newspaper.”

The statements made by Ali Larijani, then IRIB's Director-General, in defense of the Hoveyat/Identity show, also shows to some extent the reason behind Mirza Saleh’s forced confession and its subsequent broadcast on national television.

In November 1996, Larjani spoke to the Haft Sobh newspaper, saying: “The argument that we have made in the series is not based on insults and threats. These people are not religious or intellectuals … As to why these people are not given a chance to speak for themselves, it must be said, have they not already had their chance to speak out previously? That is to say, do these gentlemen really think that we do not know from which embassies they take money to write these articles?”

Larjiani's statements suggest that one of the main reasons for Mirza Saleh’s arrest and torture might have been his academic research and books of history. 

Mirza Saleh was released from Evin Prison one month after his forced confession was broadcast on television.

Gholam Hossein Mirza Saleh has authored a number of prominent works, including: “The Fall of Qajar Dynasty and the Rise of Pahlavi Dynasty,” “The Political Memoirs of Seyyed Mohammad Ali Shoushtari,” “The Crisis of Democracy in the First Parliament,” “The Political Memoirs of Qawam al-Saltanah” and “The Travelogue of Mirza Saleh Shirazi.” Mirza Saleh has also translated numerous books into Persian, including: “Arrested Voices: Resurrecting the Disappeared Writers of the Soviet Regime” by Vitaly Shentalinsky, “Bach: The Philosopher of Songs” by Denis Arnold, “Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran” by Laurence Kelly, “Zhivago's Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia” by Vladislav Zubok, “Anna of All the Russias: A Life of Anna Akhmatova” by Elaine Feinstein, and “The Land of Green Plums” by Herta Müller.