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The fighter Navid Afkari has been executed. The 27-year-old was “executed this morning after a trial was held at the request of the victim’s parents and relatives,” the head of the Justice Department in the southern province of Fars was quoted as saying on Saturday by state media.
According to the Iranian judiciary, Afkari killed a security officer during a demonstration in Shiraz in 2018 against the country’s economic and political situation. It was said that he had confessed. The confession and recordings of the alleged crime were shown on Iranian state television and on the “Aparat” video portal. The ruling was upheld by the highest court in the country. The athlete, his family and human rights organizations alleged that the confession was obtained through torture. Afkari’s lawyer said there was no proof of his guilt.
The Iranian judiciary rejected the allegations of torture, as well as criticism of the ruling. Afkari had murdered a person and the sentence against him was not the death penalty, but “Ghissas”, it said. “Ghissas” is the principle of retaliation, blood revenge or an eye for an eye in Islamic law.
Around the world, athletes, politicians, associations and organizations had previously expressed their horror at the death sentence and demanded that Afkari be given a fair trial. This was channeled through the “Save Navid Afkari” campaign.
