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Naveed Afkari, a 26-year-old fighter, was hanged in the southern city of Shiraz on Saturday, the state news agency Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.
In 2016, there were widespread protests across Iran against economic pressure and political repression. At the time, Afkari was convicted on various other charges, including stabbing Hassan Turkman, a security guard for a water company, to death.
In late August, Iran’s Supreme Court rejected a review of the case. Despite an international call for his release, the BBC reported that he had not been accepted.
According to Afkari’s family and Iranian human rights activists, Afkari was tortured and forced to make a false confession. Afkari’s lawyer also claimed that there was no evidence of his crime. Iran’s judiciary has denied the allegations.
According to Iranian human rights activists, his brothers Vahid and Habib were sentenced to 54 years and 26 years in prison, respectively, in the same case.
In an audio recording leaked from the prison where Afkari was being held, Afkari said that he had been tortured. His mother complained that one of her sons had been forced to testify against the other.
The Iranian authorities have denied any wrongdoing.
The World Players Association, which represents 75,000 athletes around the world, called for Afkari to be freed from the death penalty. US President Donald Trump also apologized to Afkari.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed its condolences to Afkari’s family and relatives, calling the execution “extremely sad news”.
Afkari was the national champion of Greco-Roman wrestling, a popular and traditional sport in Iran.
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