An incredible image of a brave Iranian laughing with a noose around his neck moments before being hanged has emerged after two Supreme Court judges were shot dead.
The photo of Majid Kavousifar, 28, captures the man's last moments before his execution after he and his cousin Hossein were convicted of the murder of judge Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi.
Majid and Hossein Kavousifar were both publicly executed by hanging in central Tehran in August 2007.
Moghaddasi was one of many Judges of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Court are believed to be responsible for the mass execution of political dissidents in 1988.
As Judge Moghaddasi left a courthouse in Tehran on August 2, 2005, an assailant on a motorcycle shot the judge twice with a pistol, killing him.
That attacker was later identified as Majid Kavousifar.
After Moghadassi's assassination, Majid fled Iran to the UAE, where he begged the US embassy for refugee status, but the embassy handed him over to Emirati police, where he was subsequently extradited to Iran.
The extraordinary images circulating online show Majid's crowd hanging in front of the Ershad Judiciary Complex. At the time, the Kavousifars' hangings were the first public executions in Tehran in five years.
The photo of smiling Majid Kavousifar, 28, captures the man's last moments before his execution after he and his cousin Hossein were convicted of the murder of judge Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi
The brave Iranian is seen in resurfaced footage waving to crowds of onlookers just before his public execution
At the time, the Kavousifars' hangings were the first public executions in Tehran in five years
Majid and Hossein were hanged from ropes attached to five-meter-long cranes; However, both men were placed on stools, which were pulled under their feet at the moment of their execution.
The beaming man seemed to die instantly, while Hossein struggled for a few moments before going limp. After several minutes, their bodies were removed and placed in an ambulance.
Majid was seen smiling at his cousin in his final moments in an attempt to reassure him, and his last words to the police officers were: “I reached the point where I decided to eradicate every injustice.”
Footage showed him waving handcuffs at onlookers and grinning at the camera with the blue noose around his neck.
Another heartbreaking image showed a young girl in a pink outfit watching as Majid was murdered before her eyes.
The re-emergence of the brave man's photos comes after two ruthless Iranian judges allegedly responsible for the 1988 mass execution of political dissidents were killed in a shooting at Tehran's Supereme Court building.
Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh were shot Saturday morning after a gunman opened fire in the Supreme Court in a “planned assassination,” the judiciary's website said.
The gunman is said to have committed suicide after the attack.
Majid and his cousin Hossein were hanged from ropes attached to five-meter-long cranes
Majid Kavousifar bids farewell to his relatives before being publicly hanged in central Tehran on August 2, 2007
A young girl attends the hanging of Majid Kavousifar and Hossein Kavousifar in Tehran, August 2, 2007
State news agency IRNA also reported that another person was injured in the attack.
The two murdered judges are said to have worked on cases 'combating crimes against national security, espionage and terrorism'.
The motive behind their killing was not immediately clear, but the judiciary said the attacker was not involved in any case before the Supreme Court.
No further details about the attacker's identity were provided.
According to authorities, an investigation into the incident has been launched.
President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his condolences for the deaths and called on authorities to act quickly.
“I strongly urge the security and law enforcement agencies to take necessary action as soon as possible by investigating the dimensions and angles of this despicable act and identifying the perpetrators,” he said.
Veteran judge Moghisseh, 68, was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for “overseeing numerous unfair trials in which charges were left unfounded and evidence was ignored,” the U.S. Treasury Department said.
Two top Iranian judges were killed in a shooting at the Supereme Court building in Tehran on Saturday. Pictured: Judge Ali Razini
Mohammad Moghisseh, 68, was sanctioned by the US in 2019
Members of the police stand in front of the Judiciary building after the assassination of Supreme Court judges Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini in Tehran, Iran, January 18, 2025
The motive behind their killing was not immediately clear
Attacks on judges are rare, but Iran has seen a number of shootings targeting prominent figures in recent years.
Razini, 71, held several important positions in Iran's judiciary and was previously the target of an assassination attempt in 1998 by assailants “who planted a magnetic bomb in his vehicle,” Mizan said.
While attacks on judges are rare, Iran has seen a number of shootings targeting prominent figures in recent years.
In October, a Shiite Muslim preacher was shot dead in the southern city of Kazeroun after reciting Friday prayers.
In April 2023, a powerful cleric identified as Abbas Ali Soleimani was also shot dead at a bank in the northern province of Mazandaran.
And in August 2005, famed Iranian judge Hassan Moghaddas was assassinated by two gunmen who got into his car in the middle of a busy business district in Tehran.
Two men convicted of his murder were publicly executed by hanging two years later.
