Tehran, Jan 19 (IANS) Two senior judges were killed in a shooting attack at the Supreme Court of Iran in central Tehran, media reported.
The “assassination” was carried out by an armed person, who killed himself after opening fire early on Saturday, according to a statement by the media centre of the judiciary.
The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary report said on Saturday that the two judges were Ali Razini, head of Branch 39, and Mohammad Moghiseh, head of Branch 53, of the Supreme Court, and that the assailant committed suicide soon after the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.
The victims were identified as Muslim scholars Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh, both holding the rank of hujjat al-Islam and each presiding over a different branch of the court.
“(They) were actively involved in combating crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism,” the statement added, describing the slain judges as “courageous and experienced”.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told Iranian state television that “a person armed with a handgun entered the room” of the two judges and shot them.
The identity of the attacker and his motive were not immediately clear.
Calling the attack a “premeditated act of terror” carried out by an “armed infiltrator,” Mizan said investigations were underway to identify and arrest those behind the “terrorist” action.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Fars news agency, citing an informed source at Tehran’s police, reported that the attacker was among the service personnel of the Supreme Court.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator had no prior cases in the Supreme Court nor was he one of its visitors,” the statement by the media centre of the judiciary said.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to the state-owned Tehran Times, a bodyguard of one of the judges was also injured in the attack on Saturday, the first working day of the week in the Iranian calendar.
State-affiliated media reported that several people working at the court building, where the attack took place, were detained. The media centre of the judiciary warned against speculation. The judiciary has not confirmed any arrests.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said the “terrorist and cowardly” act must be followed up quickly by security forces and law enforcement.
Razini, 71, was also the subject of an attempted assassination attack in 1998 while he was serving as head of Tehran’s judiciary. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was President at the time, visited him in hospital.
Moghiseh, 68, was sanctioned in 2019 by the US for having “overseen countless unfair trials, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”, according to the US Department of the Treasury.
Iranian judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said in a statement that the judges were killed due to their “decisive” sentences against “terrorists whose hands were soaked with the pure blood of the Iranian people”.
“They were always the subject of hatred and malice from the enemies,” he added.
Though attacks against judges are rare, Iran has seen several shootings of high-profile figures over the past years.
–IANS
int/khz
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