A Football Coach in Iran Sentenced to Death for Sexual Abuse of Eight Teenage Boys

The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has sentenced a 40-year-old football coach to death for sexually abusing eight teenage boys. According to reports from Iranian media on Sunday, January 7, the 10th branch of the Tehran Criminal Court condemned the accused, who reportedly had a previous history of sexual abuse, to death based on 'evidence present in the case,' although this ruling 'is still subject to appeal.' According to the complaints filed, the coach lured eight boys aged 12 to 13 to his home and sexually abused them. Reports indicate that the parents of the children expressed that 'the mental and psychological state of their children has been disturbed due to this man's actions' and requested 'the harshest punishment' for him. Reports state that the accused is married and 40 years old, and he denied the charges in court, claiming he had approached the eight boys 'for football training' and 'was joking,' and now 'regrets it.' However, after evidence was presented, including videos related to the sexual abuse, he confessed to the charges. Previous reports indicated that after complaints were filed by the families of some of the teenagers and the coach was summoned to the prosecutor's office, he 'fled' but was arrested a few months later in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province. Some social media users have compared this coach's case to that of Saeed Toosi, a Quran reciter close to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, noting that there has been no news of a judicial trial for Toosi despite similar allegations for years. This is not the first time that sexual abuse of children and teenagers in sports and educational environments in Iran has been reported. Last winter, following news of sexual abuse of children by a coach at a football school in Mashhad, the secretary of the Football Association of Razavi Khorasan province called the report 'illogical and unethical' and claimed that 'money was paid' to make it public. The provincial prosecutor announced the arrest of the offending coach and stated that 'security measures' had been issued for three journalists and one official from the sports and youth department in Mashhad. Sexual abuse of children and teenagers in Iran has previously made headlines with complaints from the parents of Saeed Toosi's students regarding 'sexual abuse.' Although this Quran reciter close to the office of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, was sentenced to four years in prison, the judiciary ultimately issued a ruling of acquittal for Saeed Toosi in December 2017 following interference from individuals reportedly close to the Supreme Leader's office. Last month, reports of sexual misconduct by some government officials of the Islamic Republic also made headlines. Payman Behboudi, the whistleblower of a video related to the sexual misconduct of the director general of the culture and guidance department of Gilan province, told Voice of America that due to the negligence of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in dismissing Reza Taqati, he decided to release part of the videos he had received. Source: Rokna News Agency, Tabnak website, Shargh newspaper, and previous reports from Voice of America.