Tehran: In a brazen assault near the court building Saturday morning, two Supreme Court judges were killed and two others were wounded in a shocking terrorist attack in the heart of Iran’s capital. The incident, which occurred around 10:45 am local time, sent early reverberations through the judicial community and the country.
A handgun was used by an armed assailant, an employee responsible for catered services at the institution, to attack three Supreme Court judges, according to local media reports. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, Hojjatoleslam Ai Razini, and another of those judges were killed in the attack, while a third judge was severely injured and is presently under medical treatment. There was also a security guard wounded in the crossfire.
Details of the incident for the news media came from the Judiciary Media Centre, which said the shooting was a “preplanned assassination of two brave and experienced judges known for their fight against crimes related to national security, espionage, and terror.” The attacked included Judge Razini, who headed Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, and Judge Moghiseh, chief of Branch 53.
The rarest of things occurred when the assailant decided not to run. But after shooting, he took his own life almost at once, eluding security officers who tried to apprehend him.
Further investigations have revealed that the attacker had never faced any cases in the Supreme Court, nor did he visit any of its branches regularly, throwing up more questions on the motive for this atrocious attack.
Lawyers, clients, and bystanders took flight in fear as shots rang out across the court premises. It has raised serious questions over how security is policed at one of Iran’s most important courts.
Authorities are investigating a full set of circumstances in what has become an unprecedented attack on the nation’s judiciary, a tragic event that’s rocked the legal community and left the public in shock.