Local Chief Justice Gunned Down

An investigation is underway into the murder of a senior prosecutor in Kermanshah Province, western Iran, on February 10.

Salim Qanbari died in hospital after suffering gunshot wounds. At least one man attacked him at around 8am as he traveled to work at the city of Ravansar’s Department of Justice headquarters. According to the Sarab Ravansar website and Mizan News Agency, which has ties to the judiciary, one of Qanbari’s children was also injured in the attack. The child had apparently been traveling with the chief justice when he was ambushed.

Ravansar is located 55 kilometers northwest of the province’s capital Kermanshah and has a population of 47,000.

One eyewitness descried the ordeal to Sarab Ravansar: “The assassin fired a few bullets in the air and tried to escape. But he was shot by the police and arrested.”

The province’s security chief, Shahriar Heydari, announced that at least one man was being held in custody in connection with the crime, adding that the suspect was in possession of a Kalashnikov rifle at the time of his arrest.

Local news site Iran 19 said that the suspect, who was from Ravansar, had a number of previous convictions and was known to Kermanshah authorities.

In an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Mohammadreza Edalatkhah, head of the Justice Department in Kermanshah, confirmed Qanbari’s death and reports that police had injured the suspect while apprehending him. The suspect remained under police supervision in hospital.   

The local office of IRNA said that Salim Qanbari had been “active in the court of justice of the county for the past seven years.”

The investigation continues. 

Read the original article in Persian