The Judiciary of Fars Province has confirmed the killing of Ehsan Bagheri, a judge and head of Branch 102 of the Criminal Court II in Shiraz. Bagheri was attacked and fatally stabbed with a bladed weapon on the morning of Tuesday, May 27 while on his way to work. The assailants fled the scene and remain at large.
According to Sadrollah Rajaei-Nasab, the Chief Justice of Fars Province, Bagheri was attacked by two individuals while walking to his office. Further details about the attackers or their motives have not yet been released.
In response, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran’s Chief Justice, issued a strict directive calling for immediate action and full cooperation from security and law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident thoroughly. He ordered that those responsible be swiftly identified, prosecuted, and punished in accordance with the law.
Ehsan Bagheri, 38, served as an investigating judge at the Shiraz Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office from November 2017 until May 2024, after which he was appointed head of the criminal court branch. Originally from Mamasani County in Fars Province, Bagheri held a master’s degree in criminal law and criminology and had over 12 years of experience in Iran’s judiciary.
The state-affiliated Mizan News Agency reported that Bagheri left his home at around 5:30 a.m. local time when he was attacked by two unidentified men. The agency described him as a “jihadi judge”—a term used in Iran for particularly hardline judicial officials—who often worked outside official hours, reviewed cases at home, and was known for his dedication. Several case files were reportedly found in his car at the time of the attack.
Bagheri’s killing comes approximately five months after the high-profile assassination of two senior judges, Mohammad Moqiseh and Ali Razini, who were fatally shot inside the Supreme Court building in Tehran on January 19, 2025.