First Court Session for Defendants of the Second Attack on Shahcheragh Held in Shiraz Revolutionary Court

Two weeks after the indictment was issued for the defendants of the armed attack in August on the Shahcheragh shrine in Shiraz, the first trial session for three of the defendants was held in the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, presided over by Mahmoud Sadati. According to official Iranian news agencies, this session was attended by 'defense lawyers', the heirs of the two victims of the incident, and a number of injured individuals and witnesses of the attack. On September 4, the Chief Justice of Fars Province announced the issuance of an indictment for the defendants of the armed attack on Shahcheragh, stating that the charges against three of the defendants in this case were 'membership in ISIS, waging war against God, and corruption on earth.' According to Kazem Mousavi, the main defendant in the case, named 'Rahmatollah Noorozaf', faces charges of membership in ISIS, waging war against God, and corruption on earth, while the charges against the second and third defendants, named 'Habibollah Arabzadeh' and 'Amrollah Nazari' (known as Asad), include 'aiding and abetting' in waging war and corruption on earth and 'conspiracy and collusion with the intent to act against national security' by 'collaborating with the terrorist group ISIS.' According to the Islamic Propagation Organization-affiliated news agency Mehr, the first defendant in this case stated in today's court session that 'I did not imagine I would be arrested; I thought I would be killed.' During today's court session, Shirazian, the representative of the Shiraz Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor, read the indictment issued against the defendants. According to Mehr news agency, 'Noorozaf' explained in court that 'the Emir of ISIS had ordered me to prepare two containers of gasoline, but I entered with a one-and-a-half-liter container of gasoline in my backpack, and before I could reach the prayer rugs and set them on fire, I was arrested.' The continuation of the trial for the defendants in this case will be held in the future. Reports published from this session did not announce a specific time for the second court session. On the evening of Sunday, August 13, Iranian news agencies reported an attack by 'several armed assailants' on 'Shahcheragh', a religious site in Shiraz. According to Iranian news agencies, in this incident, two people were killed and seven were 'injured or wounded.' Given that it was previously announced that at least 20 people had been arrested in connection with this case, there has been no news about the status of the other 17 defendants. Part of the program 'The Last Page' | Why doesn't the Islamic Republic tell the truth about the attack on Shahcheragh? Mehrdad Darvishpour: The regime is a lying shepherd, and its claims about Shahcheragh are not believable. The indictment against the defendants of the attack on Shahcheragh has been issued; the charges include membership in ISIS, waging war against God, and corruption on earth. The judicial authority of Fars Province: 20 people have been arrested; the 'terrorist' of the Shahcheragh incident is 'not regretful.' Security sources of the Islamic Republic claim a connection between the perpetrators of the attack on Shahcheragh and 'ISIS'; the number of arrests has increased.