Iran Hangs Young Wrestler, Triggers Global Outcry

Teheran: Iran has defied international appeals for clemency by executing a young wrestler accused of murder.

Navid Afkari (27) was sentenced to death for the murder of a security guard during a wave of anti-government protests in 2018. He was hanged in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on Saturday, according to a BBC report.

‘Denied Justice’

Earlier in a leaked recording from prison, Afkari said he was tortured into making a confession. “If I am executed, I want you to know that an innocent person, even though he tried and fought with all his strength to be heard, was executed,” Afkari was heard saying in the leaked recording.

His lawyer, Hassan Younesi, said his client was prevented from seeing his family before his death, as required under Iranian law. “Were you in such a hurry to carry out the sentence that you deprived Navid of a last visit,” Younesi tweeted.

Global Pleas & Outcry

Earlier, there had been many calls to stop the execution, including from a union representing 85,000 athletes worldwide.

The World Players Association said Afkari was “unjustly targeted” for taking part in the protests, and called for Iran’s expulsion from world sport if it went ahead with the execution.

US President Donald Trump also appealed for mercy, saying the wrestler’s “sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets”.

Following the execution, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called it “very sad news”. In a statement, IOC said, “It is deeply upsetting that the pleas of athletes from around the world and all the behind-the-scenes work of the IOC… did not achieve our goal,.”

Human rights organisation Amnesty International described Afkari’s execution as a “travesty of justice”.