Iran Human Rights Organization: The Islamic Republic Continues Executing Athletes

The Iran Human Rights Organization reported on Thursday, March 9, about the ongoing repression, detention, and execution of athletes by the Islamic Republic despite international pressures, including from the International Olympic Committee. According to the report, Varisha Moradi, a Kurdish political prisoner, is one of the latest athletes at risk of execution. Ms. Moradi is a coach and referee in martial arts, specifically Kung Fu. She was sentenced to death on November 20 of this year by Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of 'baghi' (armed rebellion against the government). This political prisoner had previously revealed in an open letter from prison that during her detention, she was subjected to physical and psychological torture, threats of execution, and gender-based violence. The Iran Human Rights Organization noted that the main red line for the International Olympic Committee is 'the execution or detention of athletes,' which has led to tensions between this organization and the Islamic Republic in recent years. One of the most notable examples mentioned is the execution of Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestler and one of the detainees during the popular protests in August 2018 against the collapse of the rial and the rising prices of gold and dollars. Despite widespread global calls, including from the International Olympic Committee, to prevent Navid Afkari's execution, the Iranian government executed him on September 22, 2020. At that time, the lack of punishment for the Islamic Republic by the International Olympic Committee drew criticism towards its president, Thomas Bach. The Iran Human Rights Organization stated that despite international protests, the Islamic Republic continued to suppress athletes; for instance, during the nationwide protests in 2022, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, an athlete with over 10 national karate championship titles, was executed in the case known as the 'murder of Basij member Rouhollah Ajamian.' Additionally, the security forces' crackdown on Elnaz Rekabi for competing without adhering to mandatory hijab rules at the Asian Rock Climbing Championships in South Korea and the killing of Mohammad Ghaemi Far, a teenage goalkeeper for the 'Jundi Shapur' youth team in Dezful, by direct fire from security forces in October 2022, are other incidents that drew international sports organizations' protests. Despite the repression, Iranian female athletes have repeatedly supported nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody of the morality police, and have appeared without mandatory hijab at global sports events. The Iran Human Rights Organization also referred to the execution of athletes who were hanged by the Islamic Republic in the 1980s. Among the executed athletes mentioned in the report are Habib Khabiri, a defender for the Iranian national football team from 1977 to 1980, who was executed in 1984 for alleged membership in the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran. Other executed athletes from that period include Forouzan Abdi, captain of the Iranian women's volleyball team, who was executed in Evin Prison in the summer of 1988 for supporting this organization, and Houshang Montazeralzuhur, a wrestling champion and member of Iran's national team at the Melbourne Olympics, who was also a victim of the executions of the 1980s by the Islamic Republic. Mehdi Hasani, a political prisoner sentenced to death, stated: 'I have no wish other than the freedom of Iran and the happiness of its people.' Amnesty International: The death sentence of Sharifeh Mohammadi should be revoked. UN experts: The execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani should be halted. A human rights organization: At least 13 protesters from 2022 are at risk of execution. Warning of a new wave of executions: 17 executions in two days. Execution of four individuals in Iran; a political prisoner: The government's death machine continues to kill.