persecution

The motive for the attack is unclear, but both judges are said to have played a role in the persecution and killing of opponents of the Islamic regime throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Critics labeled the policy inhumane to those fleeing persecution, but proponents said it was an effective deterrent to bogus asylum claims.

Between the 1920s and 1940s the number of Jews arriving grew, with many fleeing persecution in Europe.

But she echoed Trump's view that federal prosecutions against him were political persecution, saying the department "had been weaponised for years and years and years".

"With the new administration coming in, it's almost like a persecution," he told the BBC.