Eight Defendants in the Attack on Parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's Tomb Sentenced to Death

After seven trial sessions of the main defendants in the case of the attack on the Islamic Consultative Assembly building and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian judicial officials announced on Sunday, May 12, the issuance of death sentences for eight of them. The trial of these defendants, whom the Islamic Republic officials identify as members of ISIS, began on April 27 under the presidency of Judge Abolqasem Salavati in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court and concluded on May 6. According to the Mizan news agency, Mousa Ghazanfarpour, head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, told reporters on Sunday that these eight individuals were sentenced to death for the crimes of "moharebeh" (waging war against God) and "assisting in corruption on earth," as well as the confiscation of part of their property. According to this judicial official, the defendants have 20 days to appeal the issued verdict, after which the case will go to the Supreme Court. Mousa Ghazanfarpour did not mention the names and identities of the defendants. Iranian media had previously identified these eight defendants using initials, including "S. M." for the first defendant and "R. B." for the second defendant. According to the same report, the case of 18 other defendants in this case is pending. The simultaneous attack on the Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini occurred on June 7 last year, resulting in 17 deaths and over 50 injuries. Five of the attackers were also killed in a suicide explosion or during clashes with security forces, and the "Islamic State" group claimed responsibility for the attacks. About ten days after the attacks in Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that in retaliation, it had successfully targeted an ISIS center in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, with its missiles. However, Haaretz reported, citing Israeli military officials, that only two of the fired missiles hit their intended targets. In the weeks following the attacks in Tehran, Iranian security and military officials reported the arrest of dozens of ISIS members or individuals "suspected" of collaborating with them in the provinces of Alborz, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan. Additionally, the commander of the parliamentary protection unit was dismissed from his position about two weeks after the attacks. While Iranian officials have recently attacked the Telegram messaging app, citing security issues and have filtered it in the country, Mousa Ghazanfarpour reiterated these accusations in an interview with reporters on Sunday. According to Mizan, this judicial official stated that "most of the coordination for this operation was done via Telegram," accusing the messaging app of being a "safe haven for terrorists" and individuals who, according to him, "wish to act against the regime, the revolution, and Islam." Ghazanfarpour also accused "some individuals, especially officials," of not having yet felt the danger of Telegram. Following widespread protests last December in Iran, Iranian officials filtered Telegram and raised security accusations against this social network. However, at that time, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, explained in a note that this messaging app strictly deals with cases suspected of "terrorism" and "violence" but also "does not allow governments to obstruct the free flow of information." In recent months, the government of Hassan Rouhani and officials of the judiciary have made statements against each other regarding the issue of filtering Telegram.