Iran executes Navid Afkari, a wrestling national champion from the City of Shiraz
12-September-2020
Category: executions
Breathing in Confinement: Despite the global protest campaign, Navid Afkari, a wrestler from the City of Shiraz, was executed in Shiraz Prison this morning (September 12, 2020). He had been arrested during the November 2018 protests and had been sentenced to death on several charges.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, a source close to Afkari’s family confirmed Navid Afkari’s execution.
This morning, September 12, 2020, the Afkari family was informed of this inhumane execution by the judiciary of Fars Province. The execution was carried out while Navid Afkari, even according to the Prosecutor’s Office, had an open case in court, and part of his and his brothers’ case was yet to be heard.
The Chief Justice of Fars Province announced that the sentence of retaliation against Navid Afkari, accused of murder, was carried out this morning, Saturday, September 12, after completion of “Istihsan” legal formalities and “at the insistence of the blood owners and the victim’s family.”
Amnesty International, the International Olympic Committee, the World Wrestling Union, and the German Olympic Sports Association were among the organizations that had recently called for the abolition of the death penalty and other harsh sentences against the Afkari brothers.
Navid and Vahid Afkari were arrested in September 2018, a few days after the nationwide protests in August. Three months later, their third brother Habib Afkari also was arrested by the security forces.
Many prominent athletes and wrestlers in the world had called for the abolition of Navid Afkari’s death penalty.