An Iranian court has handed out death sentences to two men over their involvement in a deadly terrorist attack last October on the Shah Cheragh shrine in the southern city of Shiraz.
Judiciary Chief of Fars Province Kazem Moussavi said on Saturday that the two main culprits of the terrorist attack were convicted of assisting in corruption on earth, armed rebellion and acting against national security.
He said the pair were directly involved in the arming, procurement, logistics and guidance of the main perpetrator of the terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh.
The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
On October 26, 2022, an armed terrorist barged inside the revered holy shrine in Shiraz, killing 15 pilgrims, including women and children, and injuring dozens before he was arrested by security forces.
The terrorist was later pronounced dead at a hospital, succumbing to injuries sustained during the attack that sent shockwaves across the country.
A few suspects were immediately nabbed and some two weeks later the Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of 26 Takfiri terrorists for involvement in the attack. The statement said the men were nationals of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and none of them are Iranians.
Moussavi further said that the two men sentenced to death have confessed that that they had been in contact with Daesh ringleaders and helped organize the attack.
The judicial official added that three other defendants in the case were also given prison sentences for five, 15 and 25 years for being members of the Daesh terrorist group and supporting it.
He noted that the verdicts against the five could be appealed before the Supreme Court.
During the latest session of a court in Shiraz on March 15, the third suspect identified as Naeim Hashem Qetali, an Afghan national, confessed to making preparations for supporting the prime attacker in Tehran and pleaded guilty to directly helping the attacker and financially supporting members of the group.
The court has accused him of aiding and abetting “corruption on earth” through financial participation and support for Daesh elements in Iran.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in a message on October 27, pledged that the perpetrators of the “outrageous” crime will definitely face punishment.
“The grief of these dears and desecration of the shrine of Ahl al Bayt will, however, not be compensated unless through tracking these disastrous acts back to where they originate from and through adopting decisive and wise measures against it,” the Leader said.
