Iran justice minister dies in car accident News
Iran justice minister dies in car accident

[JURIST] State-run television in Iran [JURIST news archive] has reported that Iranian Minister of Justice Jamal Karimi-Rad [Wikipedia profile] has died in a car accident [IRNA report]. While details have been sparse, it is believed that Karimi-Rad’s son was driving [BBC report] when their car collided with a truck as the family was traveling south of Tehran to the central city of Isfahan. Karimi-Rad’s wife and two sons suffered injuries, and were taken to a nearby hospital in Qom.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [JURIST news archive] was quoted by IRNA as expressing condolences to “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian nation and the late minister's bereaved family as well as the Judiciary”. The accident has been blamed on bad weather, which has been described elsewhere as icy conditions [RFE report]. Besides being Justice Minister, Karimi-Rad was also spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary [official website], giving him roles in both the judicial and executive branches of Iran's government. Iran Focus has more.

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