Iran executes wrestler Navid Afkari despite pleas from Trump and Dana White

September 12, 2020; Washington Examiner

The Iranian regime has hanged 27-year-old champion wrestler Navid Afkari after international backlash grew against the jailed protester’s conviction, according to the country's state-run news agency.

Afkari was executed at a prison in Shiraz on Saturday, Iranian state-run news reported. The wrestler was handed two death sentences after being accused of killing a security guard during anti-regime protests in 2018, but Afkari maintained his innocence and claimed he was forced to confess after brutal torture.

Afkari’s case got the attention of many across the world, including President Trump.

“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," Trump said Sept. 3. “To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man’s life, and not execute him."

The sports community had also rallied around Afkari’s cause. The World Players Association, a global group that represents athletes, had called for Iran to be threatened with expulsion from international sporting events and emphasized that Afkari was “sentenced to death twice after being tortured into making a false confession.”

“Navid was one of thousands of Iranian citizens who took part in spontaneous demonstrations that year against economic hardship and political repression in Iran,” the group said in a statement. “However, he has been unjustly targeted by the Iranian authorities who want to make an example out of a popular, high-profile athlete and intimidate others who might dare exercise their human right to participate in peaceful protest.”

Members of Afkari’s family were not spared criminal sentences either. His brother, Vahid, received a sentence of more than 54 years in prison and 74 lashes, and another brother, Habib, was handed a sentence of more than 27 years and 74 lashes.

The case also caught the attention of UFC President Dana White, who posted a video asking Iran to grant Afkari clemency. White said that he “respectfully and humbly” urged Iran “to please not execute this man and spare his life.”

“And, you know, this guy — first of all, he’s a human being, number one. Number two, he’s one of us. Could be any of my fighters,” the UFC chief said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the execution over Twitter.

"The Iranian regime’s execution of Navid Afkari is a vicious and cruel act. We condemn it in the strongest terms. It is an outrageous assault on human dignity, even by the despicable standards of this regime. The voices of the Iranian people will not be silenced," he said.

A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that the "Iranian regime continues to violate and abuse the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Iranian people, targeting political and civil society activists as well as religious and ethnic minorities."

"We expect Iran’s government to adopt better human rights practices for all Iranian, including protecting the right to life and security of all persons, freedom to associate and assemble and to express themselves, of thought, conscience, and religion," the spokesperson said.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran has also been vocal about its opposition to Afkari’s execution. During a recent event by an affiliate dissident group in Washington, D.C., some speakers touched on the wrestler’s plight.

In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner, NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi blasted the hanging.

“The religious dictatorship ruling Iran cannot survive for even one day without suppression, execution, and torture. By shedding the blood of the brave children of Iran, such as Navid, it seeks to preserve its rule in the face of the Iranian people’s uprising,” she said, adding that the United Nations and human rights groups “must undertake effective and concrete measures against the Iranian regime” for the execution.