Iranian wrestler executed despite international outcry

Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari was executed on Saturday morning in a case that sparked international outcry from human rights groups and sports bodies, Anadolu Agency reports.

Afkari, 27, was accused of stabbing to death an employee of a local civic body in southwestern Shiraz city during anti-government protests in 2018.

The protests, which started over the dismal economic situation in the country, quickly spread to different parts of the country, turning violent at some places.

The Iranian government was accused of brutally crushing the protests while the government officials in Tehran accused foreign elements of engineering it.

The incident, according to reports, took place in front of the victim’s house on Aug. 2, 2018. The family of the victim lodged a complaint and Afkari was arrested based on CCTV footage.

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An Iranian court slapped the wrestler with two death sentences, six and half years in prison and 74 lashes. His brothers Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari, also allegedly complicit in the murder, were sentenced by a criminal court to 54 and 27 years in prison respectively.

The death sentence was carried out Saturday morning “after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim,” semi-official Fars News Agency quoted the head of judiciary in Fars province as saying.

The case had drawn widespread international outcry, with calls to grant clemency to the wrestler. Many international sports bodies had also issued appeals in his favor.

The International Olympic Committee and the Iranian Wrestling Federation tried all their channels to seek pardon for the accused.IOC president Thomas Bach had expressed “concern” over the fate of Afkari but said his organization has to “stick to our principles – to respect sovereignty and judicial system of sovereign countries”, as reported by CBS.

US President Donald Trump also tweeted his support for the wrestler, calling on the Iranian authorities to “spare this young man’s life, and not execute him”.

World Players Association, a global body that represents 85,000 professional athletes, had urged the Iranian authorities to drop the charges against Afkari and demanded probe into allegations of abuse.

Afkari gave a televised statement on Sept. 5 on state-run television, confessing to his crime. However, his family and supporters said that the statement was taken under duress.

In a letter written to Iran’s judiciary chief, his family alleged that Afkari and his brothers were beaten in custody and demanded medical examination.

On Friday, Amnesty International also issued a statement, saying the “confessions” were “forced” and were “obtained under torture”. The watchdog called on the international community to “urgently intervene” in the matter.

Iran’s judiciary, however, denied the claims of torture, saying the due legal procedures were followed in the case and the wrestler was provided full opportunity to put up his case.

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Afkari was a junior wrestler who had acquired fame in Iran and was on the verge of representing his country in international competitions. The case of murder, however, destroyed his career.

In another development, a former deputy head of Iran’s judiciary, Akbar Tabari, was sentenced to 31 years in prison on Saturday and his property was seized on court’s order.

In a high-profile case that began in June this year, Tabari and his 21 accomplices were accused of corruption, money laundering and influence trading. The trial was broadcast live on state television.

Tabari was dismissed from his position eight days after Ebrahim Raeesi took over as the chief justice in June this year.

Among Tabari’s co-accused is former judge Bijan Qasemzadeh, who is known to have ordered the blocking of Telegram messaging application in Iran a few years ago.