Navid Afkari, an Iranian wrester convicted of murder in a case that was condemned by rights groups and U.S. President Donald Trump, has been executed, Iranian state media reported on September 12.
Afkari was executed “this morning after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim,” the head of the justice department in the southern Fars Province was quoted by state media as saying.
Afkari was convicted of a killing a man in the southern city of Shiraz in 2018 during mass anti-government protests.
The case had attracted international outcry.
Afkari had said he was tortured into making a false confession, according to his family and activists, and his attorney says there was no proof of his guilt.
Iran’s judiciary has denied the torture claims.
A global union representing 85,000 athletes on September 8 called for Iran’s expulsion from world sport if it executed Afkari.
Trump also called on Iran this month not to execute the wrestler.
“Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai, whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets. They were protesting the ‘country’s worsening economic situation and inflation,'” Trump wrote in a September 3 Twitter post.
Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa
Radio Free | Radio Free (2020-09-12T08:55:50+00:00) Reports: Iranian Wrestler Executed. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/09/12/reports-iranian-wrestler-executed-2/
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