Sat 12 September 2020:
Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari has been executed after being convicted of stabbing to death a security guard, according to state media.
Afkari was executed “this morning after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim”, Kazem Mousavi, head of the justice department in southern Fars province, was quoted as saying.
Authorities accused Afkari, 27, of stabbing the water supply company employee in the southern city of Shiraz. Iran broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession last week.
But Afkari said he was tortured into making a false confession, according to his family and activists. His lawyer said there was no proof of his guilt. Iran’s judiciary, however, denied the torture claims.
Afkari and his brothers were employed as construction workers in Shiraz, 680km (420 miles) south of the capital, Tehran.
The provincial court in Shiraz also sentenced Afkari’s brothers Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari to 54 and 27 years in prison, respectively, over the killing.
Afkari’s attorney accused authorities of denying his client a family visit before the execution, as required by law.
“Were you in so much hurry to execute the sentence that you also deprived Navid of a last meeting?” Hassan Younesi said on Twitter.
There was no immediate reaction by Iranian officials to the attorney’s accusation.
The World Players Association, an international body that represents professional athletes, had protested the sentence and called for Iran to be threatened with expulsion from international sport, including from the Olympic movement, if the execution was carried out.
“Navid was one of thousands of Iranian citizens who took part in spontaneous demonstrations that year against economic hardship and political repression in Iran,” said a statement from the WPA. “However, he has been unjustly targeted by the Iranian authorities who want to make an example out of a popular, high-profile athlete and intimidate others who might dare exercise their human right to participate in peaceful protest.”
WPA said in the statement that Afkari was “sentenced to death twice after being tortured into making a false confession.”
Afkari’s case sparked interest beyond the sports circles. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for an international intervention and a new trial.
US President Donald Trump got involved last week, asking the Iranian leaders last to spare Afkari’s life.
“Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkari, whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets. They were protesting the ‘country’s worsening economic situation and inflation’,” Trump tweeted.
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