Navid Afkari was a 27-year-old Iranian wrestler who was executed by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on September 12, 2020, despite international calls. Navid was convicted of killing a security guard during anti-government protests in 2018.
Wiki/Biography
Navid Afkari was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1993 (he died at the age of 27). He grew up in the city of Shiraz, which has become the epicenter of anti-government protests that swept the country in 2018. The young wrestler won some acclaim in Shiraz.
Navid Afkari standing on the beach
family
His father’s name is Hossein Afkari and mother’s name is Bahieh Namjoo.
Naveed Afkari’s mother Bai Nanjo
He has two brothers, Habib Afkari and Vahid Afkari; both were sentenced to 54 years and six months in prison and 74 lashes, and 27 years and three months in prison and 74 lashes, respectively, in the same case.
Navid Afkari’s brothers Vahid (35) and Habib (29)
After his execution, his mother posted a video on social media asking for help from the international community.
They tortured my sons to make them confess to accusing Navid. There was also a sham trial. My children could not defend themselves.”
Despite international appeals, executions continue
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran executed Navid Afkari for his alleged role in a murder during the 2018 Iranian protests. He was executed in a prison in the southern city of Shiraz on Saturday morning, according to judicial officials. After the execution, Fars Province Chief Justice Kazem Mousavi said on state television that
This morning, the retaliatory sentence against Hasan Turkman’s killer, Navid Afkari, was carried out in Adrabad Jail in Shiraz.”
Navid was reported to have stabbed Hassan Turkman, a waterworker, during anti-government protests in his hometown city of Shiraz in 2018. The Iranian government executed him despite international calls for his life. Iran had previously sentenced Afkari to death twice, once by a criminal court and once by a “revolutionary court”, in addition to a sentence of six years and six months in prison and 74 lashes. Navid Afkari’s conviction has sparked widespread criticism in Iran and abroad, with many condemning the Iranian government’s actions, saying it was using Navid as an example to suppress dissent. While condemning his sentence, US President Donald Trump called on Iran to spare Navid’s life on Twitter, saying Mr. Navid had simply participated in a protest against the Iranian government.
To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate it if you could spare this young man’s life instead of executing him. Thank you!”
…To the leaders of Iran, I would be grateful if you could spare this young man’s life instead of executing him. Thank you! @UFC @DanaWhite @FoxNews https://t.co/NkJb4IsQpt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
Iran responded to Trump’s tweet with a video of Afkari, riding a bicycle, admitting to stabbing Tolkarman in the back. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the following in its rebuttal to Trump’s tweet:
Trump is worrying about the lives of the killers, while at the same time putting the lives of many Iranian patients at risk by imposing severe sanctions.”
protest
Navid Afkari’s execution sparked global outrage. Although Mr. Navid never competed in the Olympics, many urged the International Olympic Committee to take action against Iran when the execution took place. After expressing sadness and shock at the execution of Navid Afkari, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement:
It is deeply disturbing that the pleas from athletes around the world and all the behind-the-scenes work by the IOC, the Iranian Olympic Committee, the World Wrestling Federation and the Iranian National Wrestling Federation have failed to achieve our goals.”
Condemning the execution of Navid Afkari, UN Watch, the only UN-accredited non-governmental organization tasked with monitoring the UN, defending human rights and fighting dictatorship and double standards, posted a tweet.
🇮🇷 The Islamic Republic of Iran has just confirmed the death sentence for wrestling champion Navid Afkari for taking part in the 2018 protests against the regime.
🇮🇷 The Islamic Republic of Iran is an elected member of the United Nations Commission on Criminal Justice.
Why, @antonioguterres? pic.twitter.com/9pLD5ABFKQ
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) August 29, 2020
Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian dissident and journalist, also took to Twitter to voice his opposition to the execution.
This is what the Islamic Republic of Iran did to a mother.
Her name was Behieh Namjou. The regime sentenced her son #NavidAfkari was executed for protesting. Her other sons were unjustly imprisoned.
She went from being a cheerful and happy mother to a sad and depressed mother pic.twitter.com/6bqjIqQCw2
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) August 31, 2020
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based human rights organization, condemned the planned execution and tweeted:
World leaders, led by Germany, France and Japan, should tell the Ayatollah [to] Eliminate these executions or you’re going to lose your economic lifeline.”
A group of protesters against the execution of Navid Afkari
2018 Iran Unrest
In 2018, as protests broke out across Iran over a weak economy, strict Islamic rules and water shortages, Navid Afkari and his brothers, Habib Afkari and Vahid Afkari, joined demonstrations in Shiraz. Soon after, plainclothes security agents raided his home and arrested Navid and one of his brothers. Later, the other brother was also arrested by authorities and they were sentenced to decades in prison.
Facts/Trivia
- Nabid Afkari is a plasterer who has won several medals in Iranian wrestling.
- Iran also aired a televised confession of Navid Afkari before the wrestler’s execution.
- Amnesty International said that in addition to the execution of Navid, Iran executed 251 people in 2019, second only to China in the number of executions that year.
- In a letter published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Navid described being tortured and forced to confess by Iranian authorities. Giving details of the torture, he wrote that they would cover his head with a plastic bag and pour alcohol into his nostrils.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education