Following Shooting at the Judiciary Palace; Two Notable Judges Killed

Iranian media reported the killing of Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini, two well-known judges of the Islamic Republic who had issued numerous death sentences against government opponents during their judicial careers. News agencies reported a shooting incident and the deaths of the two judges earlier today local time. Moments later, ILNA news agency identified the two deceased judges as Ali Razini and Mohammad Mogheiseh. Reports indicated a third judge named 'Judge Miri' was injured in the incident. Hours later, Iranian news agencies claimed the injured third judge was 'Hossein Ali Niri', but shortly after this news was released, the judiciary denied it. A few hours later, Asghar Jahangir, the judiciary spokesperson, also denied the injury of the third judge, claiming that 'only a guard was injured.' Niri is a Sharia judge and a member of the committee responsible for the execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, known as the 'Death Committee', who stated in an interview in 2022 that 'new conspiracies were on the way' and 'the country could not be managed with love and sacrifice.' The judiciary's media center, Mizan, confirmed the deaths of Razini and Mogheiseh, stating: 'This morning, an infiltrator armed with a weapon carried out a planned assassination of two brave and experienced judges in the fight against crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism.' Fars news agency reported that 'the assailant was a janitor of the Supreme Court who shot at the judges with a pistol' and then 'attempted suicide.' Fars, affiliated with security institutions, claimed that 'the assailant was a janitor of the Supreme Court who shot at the judges' and then 'attempted suicide.' Mizan reported: 'According to initial investigations, the individual in question had no case in the Supreme Court nor was he a visitor to the court branches.' Meanwhile, no group has claimed responsibility for the killings of the two judges. On the other hand, Mohammad Kazem Mohammadi Azad, the Attorney General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, ordered a swift investigation into the case and instructed that necessary actions be taken to identify and arrest what he referred to as the 'backers' of the judges' killings. According to the judiciary's media center, Ali Razini was the head of Branch 39 and Mohammad Mogheiseh was the head of Branch 53 of the Supreme Court. According to the latest reports, following the killings of these two judges at their workplace, several staff members of the judiciary palace were arrested by the order of the Attorney General. A few hours later, the judiciary denied this as well. ILNA reported that Judge Mogheiseh and Judge Razini were targeted while exiting through the front door. Reports indicate that the Supreme Court building has been evacuated and security has been handed over to the police. Asghar Jahangir, the judiciary spokesperson, announced a few hours later that 'around 10 to 10:45, an armed individual entered the room of the two experienced judges.' Reports indicate that Mohammad Mogheiseh was transferred from the Revolutionary Court to the Supreme Court in November 2020. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Mohammad Mogheiseh on December 19, 2019, for his involvement in the punishment of Iranian citizens and dual nationals. Mogheiseh was one of the judges who issued numerous death sentences, prison terms, and lashes against journalists, lawyers, political activists, and ethnic and religious minorities. As a judge in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, he handled numerous cases, including those of the leaders of the Baha'i community, protesters of the 'Green Movement', members of the National Front, and Mehdi Hashemi, and according to the 'Atlas of Iranian Prisons', he sentenced defendants to a total of 1,653 years in prison in 335 cases. Due to his rulings and his role in suppressing critics and opponents of the Islamic Republic, he was also placed on the EU sanctions list in 2011. The second person killed in front of the Tehran Judiciary Palace was Ali Razini. Razini had a history of serving as the Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, Head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, Chief Justice of Tehran Province from 1994 to 1999, Head of the Administrative Justice Court from 2004 to 2009, representative of Hamadan Province in the fourth Assembly of Experts, Head of the Special Court for Clergy from 1987 to 2012, and Legal Deputy of the Judiciary Chief. The judiciary's information center announced that this was not the first attempt to physically eliminate Razini, as he was targeted in December 1998 when he was the head of the Tehran judiciary, with a magnet bomb attached to his vehicle by motorcyclists, resulting in injury. Various sources reported that Razini played a role in issuing death sentences for various individuals during the eight-year war with Iraq and the 1988 massacre. In this regard, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wrote in his memoirs on August 5, 1988, regarding the establishment of special courts: 'In the afternoon, Mr. Fallahian and Razini came. We discussed the wartime court and special inspections and ongoing war matters. Recently, the Imam issued a strong order to Mr. Razini for establishing a court and prosecuting those responsible for the war.' Throughout his life, Razini has openly boasted about the crimes he committed, stating: 'We had the courage to write down the reasons for every execution we carried out and signed it, and this is an honor for us.' Razini has also stated regarding the 1980s massacre that 'the Imam said if an armed group rises against the regime, all its members are opponents; even those who are not in the military branch, and the regime began to confront them.' Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, issued a decree in the summer of 1988 appointing a committee to determine political prisoners 'who are at war and sentenced to death', explicitly mentioning Hossein Ali Niri and Morteza Eshraqi in this committee. Mostafa Pourmohammadi and Ebrahim Raisi were also members of this committee. The desire for 'martyrdom' for Ali Razini, the slain judge, was expressed by Khamenei in 1998.