“This attempt to penalize an athlete for using his voice must be stopped. ” In a final effort, the global athlete defense association called on Tehran to suspend the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, scheduled for Wednesday, September 9. The young man, aged 27, was found guilty of “intentional homicide” on an official of the public water authority in Shiraz, in southern Iran, on August 2, 2018. Like several other localities in the country, the city was then the scene of demonstrations hostile to the regime.
Navid Afkari and his brothers were employed as construction workers in Shiraz, some 680 kilometers from the capital, Tehran. All three took part in the protests, which arose out of anger at the dire socio-economic situation and which turned into calls for the overthrow of the Iranian theocracy. The unrest has since continued sporadically in the country, with authorities arresting thousands of people.
“Iran uses the popularity of [Navid] Afkari to give an example to anti-government protesters ”, argues Global Athlete, inviting athletes to mobilize. The association also urges international sports bodies to sanction Iranian federations to first put an end to this “Atrocity”, but also in order to dissuade the regime from violating fundamental human rights. The wrestler’s brothers, Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari, were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison respectively.
Forced confessions
The case of Navid Afkari was the subject of a mobilization online, in particular around the hashtag “Do not execute our Navid”, after the publication of information affirming that the young man had been convicted on the basis of confession extracted under torture. Among the supporters of the wrestler, Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a free fighting organization based in the United States.
Iran, please spare Navi’s Afkarai 🙏🏻 #SaveNavid https://t.co/HMeZA1yFup
“He went to a peaceful demonstration in Iran and he is going to be executed for it”Mr. White said in a video Friday, September 4.
“He’s one of us. He could be any of my fighters. “
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has also taken a stand. “I hear that Iran is preparing to execute a major wrestling star, Navid Afkari, 27, who has only participated in an anti-government demonstration”, he reacted last week on Twitter.
Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai, whose sole a… https://t.co/QjzIKVWmk8
“To the Iranian leadership, I would really appreciate it if you would spare the life of this young man and not execute him. Thank you ! “
Shortly after the virtual address of the tenant of the White House, Iranian state television broadcast a video of some 11 minutes on the case, where the young man confesses his crime. We see the tearful parents of the water company employee killed, but also images of Navid Afkari in the back of a motorcycle.
The report is also based on vague police documents and describes the murder as a “Personal disagreement”, without giving more details. It is said there that the wrestler’s cell phone was in the area, a point reinforced by surveillance footage of him walking down a street, talking on his phone.
🇮🇷 The Islamic Republic of Iran just confirmed the death sentence of wrestling champion Navid Afkari for participat… https://t.co/emEjoJerhe
For many human rights defenders, these images resemble those of 355 forced confessions broadcast by Iranian state television over the past decade, singled out in a report by the United Nations special rapporteur.
With at least 251 executions in 2019, Iran is, after China, the country in the world that uses the death penalty the most according to the latest global report on the death penalty published by Amnesty International. The human rights organization nevertheless notes that “The number of executions recorded” in Iran “Halved” compared to 2018.
