Two Iranian Supreme Court judges were killed when a gunman entered the courthouse in Tehran on Saturday morning.
The victims were Ali Razini, 71, and Mohammad Moghiseh, 68. After shooting the judges, the attacker killed himself while trying to escape. A bodyguard was also wounded in the attack, which happened at the Palace of Justice despite its usually tight security.
Both judges had controversial pasts. They were accused of being involved in executing political opponents during the 1980s and 1990s. No group has said they were behind the killings.
The timing is significant as Iran faces several challenges: economic problems, its allies in the Middle East being attacked by Israel, and Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Monday.
Iran’s government news agency IRNA shared this statement from the judiciary: “According to initial investigations, the person in question did not have a case in the Supreme Court nor was he a client of the branches of the court.”
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Asghar Jahangir, who speaks for Iran’s courts, told Iranian TV that the shooter likely worked at the courthouse, calling him an “infiltrator.”
This wasn’t the first attempt on Razini’s life – in January 1999, someone threw a bomb at his car as he left work, injuring him.
The Iranian Supreme Court is the country’s highest court, with branches throughout the country. It can review decisions made by lower courts.
The U.S. government placed sanctions on Moghiseh in 2019, saying he had “overseen countless unfair trials, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded.”
Both judges were accused by activists of taking part in mass executions in 1988, which happened right after Iran’s war with Iraq ended.
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