TWO veteran Iranian Supreme Court judges have been shot dead by an assailant who later took his own life.
Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, 68, and Judge Ali Razini, 71, were known for handling high-profile cases “fighting crimes against national security, espionage and terrorism”.
Ali Razini (pictured) was killed in Tehran along with Mohammad Moghisseh
Mohammad Moghisseh (pictured) was known for tackling high profile cases
ReutersThe two judges were killed in an assassination[/caption]
The Iranian judiciary said the assailant killed the two senior judges in a “planned assassination” in Tehran.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said: “This morning, a gunman infiltrated the Supreme Court in a planned act of assassination of two brave and experienced judges.
“The two judges were martyred in the act.”
A guard was also injured in the attack and it is thought to have been a terrorist act, according to reports.
A motive behind the shock killing was not immediately clear but Mizan said the assailant was not involved in any cases before the Supreme Court.
No further details on the attacker’s identity were released but Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urged an investigation take place into the shock shooting.
Pezeshkian said: “I strongly urge the security and law enforcement forces to take the necessary measures as soon as possible by examining the dimensions and angles of this reprehensible act and to identify its perpetrators.”
Moghisseh has had a rocky past with the West as he was sanctioned by the EU in 2011 and by the United States in 2019.
The US Department of the Treasury accused him of having “overseen countless unfair trails, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”.
Razini held several important positions in Iran’s judiciary and has been the target of assassination attempts in the past.
In 1999, Razini survived an assassination attempt after a bomb was attached to his vehicle.
As a judge, he is accused of being one of the judges involved in “Death Commission”.
This was a committee that received extreme scrutiny for overseeing the prosecution and execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
The shooting of sitting judges is rare in Iran, but the country has a storied history of high-profile figures being targeted for death.
In October, a Shiite Muslim preacher was shot dead in the southern city of Kazeroun after leading Friday prayers.
A powerful cleric was shot dead at a bank in the northern province of Mazandaran, later identified as Hassan Moghaddas.
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