Execution of Former Iranian National Wrestling Champion Morteza Yousefi in Nowshahr and Two Afghan Nationals in Qazalhasar

Judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic executed Morteza Yousefi, a former champion of the Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team, early Wednesday morning in Nowshahr, Mazandaran province. Simultaneously, two Afghan nationals were also executed in Qazalhasar prison in Alborz province. According to a report by the Human Rights Activists in Iran on Wednesday, September 21, Morteza Yousefi, 41, a resident of Sang Tejan village in Nowshahr, a graduate in physical education, and a former champion of the Iranian national Greco-Roman wrestling team, was executed by the Islamic Republic's judiciary in connection with drug-related crimes. Morteza Yousefi had previously written a letter to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, stating that three judges in his case had requested a 'reduction of punishment' for him, and that the death sentence had been overturned by the Supreme Court and 'accepted by the Amnesty Commission,' with 'the execution of the pardon only requiring the final approval and order of the head of the judiciary.' However, HRANA, the media organ of the Human Rights Activists, reported that due to the 'indifference of the head of the judiciary' to this process, judicial authorities executed Morteza Yousefi early Wednesday morning in the prison yard of Nowshahr. Although the news of the execution of the former champion has not yet been announced by prison officials and judicial authorities. Concurrently with Morteza Yousefi's execution, HRANA reported that two Afghan prisoners were also executed on Wednesday, September 21, in Qazalhasar prison in connection with drug-related crimes. The names of the two executed Afghan prisoners were reported as 'Sajad Bandegi and Abdul Rahman Tajik.' According to the report, these two prisoners were transferred to the execution quarantine on Tuesday along with another prisoner, but the third person was not executed and 'remains in solitary confinement.' In previous days, May Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, noted that at least 93 people were executed in Iran just in the last month, stating that only a portion of these executions were officially reported by the Islamic Republic. According to reports from May Sato and several other UN experts, the number of executions by the Islamic Republic in August was more than double the 45 executions carried out in July, and so far this year, at least 400 Iranian citizens, including 15 women, have been executed by the Iranian government. Additionally, see: UN Special Rapporteur: The Islamic Republic executes individuals with 'violations of fair trial.' Furthermore, the spokesperson for the US State Department reacted to this report, calling the statistics on executions in Iran and the judicial process leading to such sentences 'concerning.' Matthew Miller criticized the judiciary of the Islamic Republic in his daily press conference, stating that this institution 'is in no way independent or encompassing fair trials.' Amnesty International reported that the Islamic Republic was responsible for 74% of recorded executions worldwide last year.