The Head of the Judiciary in Ravansar, Kermanshah Province, 'Assassinated'

According to reports, Salim Ghanbari, the head of the judiciary in Ravansar County, Kermanshah Province, was assassinated early on Tuesday, February 21, and died in the hospital. Mojtaba Maleki, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Kermanshah, stated in an interview with Tasnim News Agency that the head of the judiciary was shot multiple times by an individual while leaving his home with his son. He added, 'His son was also shot in the leg and injured.' The Kermanshah judiciary website described the assailant as 'one of the criminals in the area with a history of previous offenses.' According to this website, the assailant also fired at officers, resulting in an 'armed confrontation' between him and the officers. The website further noted that Salim Ghanbari was a 'decisive' judge who, with his determination, courage, sincerity, and commitment, was a thorn in the side of those who violated public security and criminals who saw his presence as an obstacle to their wrongdoing; therefore, one of these thugs decided to kill him. Regarding the arrest of the assassin, Mojtaba Maleki mentioned that 'the perpetrator of this assassination was immediately pursued by judicial agents and is currently injured and detained, but cannot speak at this time.' Maleki also commented on the motive behind the assassination, stating, 'The motive is currently unclear and needs to be investigated. Initially, it was said that he had a case, but this cannot be relied upon as there may be other issues behind the scenes that need to be investigated.' Shahryar Heydari, the director general of security and police in Kermanshah Province, also told IRNA that 'one of the main perpetrators of the assassination has been arrested with a firearm, and the incident is currently under investigation by security and police forces.' Salim Ghanbari had been active in the judiciary of Ravansar County for seven years. Ravansar, with a population of 47,000, is located 55 kilometers northwest of Kermanshah. In 2009, Allahyar Malekshahi, the head of the Kermanshah judiciary, reported that following an armed conflict between police officers and Kurdish insurgents on April 23 of that year near Ravansar, 18 police officers and 8 members of the PJAK group were killed.