Majid Kavousifar

Majid Kavousifar was an Iranian man who, along with his nephew Hossein Kavousifar, were convicted of the murder of Judge Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi. Majid and Hossein Kavousifar were both publicly executed by hanging in Tehran in August 2007. political prisoners to execution during the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners. The mass executions were largely thought to be a political purge with Operation Mersad preceding the executions. Moghaddasi also presided over the trials of Iranian political dissidents, such as Akbar Ganji.

As Moghaddasi was leaving a court building in Tehran on 2 August 2005, an assailant on a motorcycle shot the judge twice with a pistol, killing him. That assailant was subsequently identified as Majid Kavousifar.

Escape from Iran, and arrest After murdering Moghaddasi, Majid Kavousifar escaped from Iran to United Arab Emirates and went to the United States embassy to apply for refugee status. Instead, the embassy surrendered him to Emirati police, and the UAE extradited Kavousifar to Iran in 2006.

Execution

Majid and Hossein were both hanged in public on 2 August 2007, in front of the Ershad Judiciary Complex in central Tehran. Majid and Hossein were hanged from ropes attached to five meter long cranes; however, both men were placed on stools, which were pulled from under their feet at the moment of their execution. Majid appeared to die instantly, while Hossein struggled for a few moments before going limp. After several minutes, their bodies were removed and placed into an ambulance.

Hossein Kavousifar appeared visibly distressed as he awaited his execution, but his uncle (Majid) gestured to him and smiled in an attempt to reassure him. Majid Kavousifar showed no remorse to police officers in his last words, telling them, "I reached the point at which I decided to eradicate any injustice."