Gunmen k!ll Judge while on his way to work in Southern Iran
A criminal court judge in Shiraz, southern Iran, was assassinated Tuesday morning while on his way to work, according to a statement by the country’s judiciary.
Judge Ehsan Bagheri, head of Branch 102 of the Criminal Court 2 in Shiraz, was attacked by two individuals in what authorities have described as a terrorist act. The judiciary’s Mizan Online reported that Bagheri was killed in the assault, and the assailants remain at large. The motive behind the attack is yet to be determined.
Bagheri, 38, had over 12 years of experience in the judiciary and was a native of Fars province. Prior to his current position, he had served as a prosecutor and investigator in the Revolutionary Courts of several cities, including Shiraz.
Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has ordered a special investigation into the killing, which comes amid a wave of violent incidents targeting judicial officials in Iran.
In January, a rare shooting inside Iran’s Supreme Court left two senior judges, Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh, dead. The gunman, in what authorities described as a “planned act of assassination,” took his own life after the attack. Both victims were known for handling high-profile national security cases. Authorities have not yet disclosed the motive behind that incident.
The latest killing also follows another violent episode in Shiraz on Monday night, in which a man fatally shot four people before being wounded and arrested by security forces. Details about that incident have yet to be made public.
