[ad_1]
Updated: September 13, 2020 1:11:09 pm
In this June 25, 2018 file photo, a group of protesters chanted slogans after Iran broadcast the televised confession of the fighter facing the death penalty. (Iran Labor News Agency via AP, file)
Iran executed wrestling champion Navid Afkari on Saturday, who was convicted of stabbing a security guard to death during the 2018 anti-government protests. According to information released by state media, the 27-year-old Afkari was executed in the gallows in the city of Shiraz. .
What were the charges against Afkari?
Afkari was arrested on September 17, 2018 and received two death sentences, one for retribution in kind by a criminal court and another sentence for enmity against God, handed down by a Revolutionary Court.
Both death sentences were related to the murder of a security officer that took place on 2 August 2018 in Shiraz. Afkari’s brothers, Vahid and Habib Afkari, were sentenced to 56 years and six months and 24 years and three months in prison, respectively, and to 74 lashes each in connection with the same case. All three brothers have denied these accusations. In late August, Iran confirmed Afkari’s death sentence for participating in the protests.
Read | Iran executes 27-year-old after Donald Trump asked to ‘spare the young man’s life’
Iran saw massive anti-government protests starting in December 2017 in which protesters called for an end to the Islamic regime and highlighted its inability to revive the economy and its inability to tackle unemployment and inflation in the country.
In a voice recording of Afkari from inside the prison, which was released by the Amnesty International group, Afkari said: “If I am executed, I want you to know that an innocent person, although he tried and fought with all his might to be heard , was executed “.
.📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@ieexplained) and stay up to date with the latest
Furthermore, according to Amnesty, Afkari made a call to his family on 6 September, where he said he was being held in a wing of Adelabad Prison in Shiraz City, before his call was cut off. On September 5, Afkari’s forced confession was broadcast on Iranian state television in a propaganda video that attempted to justify his death sentence.
What has been the response to your execution?
Iran exerted considerable international pressure not to go ahead with the death sentence. Following his execution, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement that it was “shocked” by the news and mentioned that the IOC President had made personal appeals to the Supreme Leader and President of Iran to ask for mercy for Afkari. “It is deeply disturbing that the pleas of athletes around the world and all the behind-the-scenes work of the IOC, along with the NOC of Iran, United World Wrestling and the National Federation of Wrestling of Iran, did not achieve our goal,” Said the statement.
Last week, US President Donald Trump asked Iranian leaders not to carry out the execution. He tweeted: “Upon learning that Iran is seeking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkari, whose only act was an anti-government demonstration in the streets. They were protesting the ‘worsening of the economic situation and inflation in the country.’
Don’t miss Explained | Why the president of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, faces impeachment
“To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate it if you would spare this young man’s life and not execute him. Thank you! “, Said.
Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad took to Twitter after Afkari was executed, saying: “We, the Iranian people, are furious that the Islamic Republic killed one of us for the crime of protesting and this is not acceptable in the XXI century”. She demanded that Iran be boycotted from sporting events.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay up to date with the latest headlines
For the latest news explained, download the Indian Express app.
