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Iran is seeking to execute a decorated Iranian fighter simply for peacefully protesting against the regime in early January, prompting the US State Department on Wednesday to demand that Tehran overturn the death sentence for 19-year-old Saleh Mohammadi.
Wrestling is a national pastime in Iran and a sport favored by President Donald Trump, who attempted to save the life of Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling champion Navid Afkari in 2020. Iran’s clerical regime executed Afkari for his 2018 role in a demonstration against the economic and political corruption of the theocratic state.
According to the State Department’s official #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights #IranProtest “
The State Department’s action comes as activists are calling on the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling to intervene with regime authorities on their behalf, as well as other wrestlers persecuted in the country.
Iranian-American Sardar Pashaei, who won a world championship title in Greco-Roman wrestling for Iran and coached the country’s elite Greco-Roman team, told Pak Gazette Digital: “In less than ten days, the Iranian regime shot dead more than 30 athletes across the country. The youngest was just 15 years old. The victims included youth athletes, national champions, coaches and international referees. Each of them was shot dead.”
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He added that his organization, Hiwa, “has documented only confirmed cases. Many more athletes remain missing, imprisoned or at risk of torture and execution, while families across Iran continue searching for their loved ones without answers or justice.” He praised the State Department’s actions in publicly calling for the release of Saleh Mohammadi.
Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi faces imminent execution in Iran for taking part in a protest as international pressure mounts to save the athlete. (The Foreign Office)
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Pashaei continued: “A regime that imprisons, tortures and murders its own athletes has no place in the international sports community. Sport should never be used to launder blood. Hiwa is preparing an official letter demanding that the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling suspend and ban Iran from all international competitions.”
The Islamic Republic’s security forces detained Olympic wrestler Alireza Nejati, who won medals at world championships, after he posted a message on social media to his more than 78,000 Instagram followers. The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.
“I wish you all a beautiful weekend full of success and good vibes,” the 27-year-old Greco-Roman wrestling champion wrote on January 7. He concluded his message by saying: “This is the end.”
Pak Gazette Digital emailed press inquiries and made phone calls to the UWW and the IOC regarding the statements.
IRAN TO EXECUTE SECOND FIGHTER, PROVOKING OUTRAGE FROM US STATE DEPARTMENT
Iranians in Canada demonstrate in Mel Lastman Square against the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari by the Iranian regime, in Toronto, Ontario, on September 15, 2020. The death sentence caused an international uproar, but the regime persisted. (Photo by Sayed Najafizada/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari, a leading Iran expert, told Pak Gazette Digital: “Saleh Mohammadi is a 19-year-old athlete whose only ‘crime’ was supporting his people, but now he faces an imminent death sentence designed to make an example of him and terrorize an entire nation. His imminent execution would not be justice, it would be a warning shot to every young Iranian who dares to dream of freedom, and the world’s response will show the protesters if they are truly alone or not.”
He added: “By threatening to kill its young people (athletes, artists, musicians and brightest minds), the regime is making it clear that it does not see the Iranian people as its future, but as a threat that must be silenced.”
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Pak Gazette Digital has contacted the US State Department for comment.
