Navid Afkari

Navid Afkari ( Persian نوید افکاری; * 1993 ; † September 12, 2020 in Shiraz ) was an Iranian wrestler . He is said to have killed a security guard in 2018 on the sidelines of one of the demonstrations against the Shiite Islamist regime of Iran in which he participated. As a result, the qisās (retribution) was imposed on him, placing his fate in the hands of the family of the victim. This demanded Afkari's execution. His guilt and the legal process are controversial. Despite all the protests, Afkari was executed by hanging on September 12, 2020 in the presence of the security guard's family. His family was not allowed to attend his funeral that night.

Life

Navid Afkari was active as a wrestler and lived in southern Iran. He won some competitions in freestyle wrestling as well as in Greco-Roman style and also took part in international competitions.

Together with two of his brothers, Navid Afkari took part in protests against the Iranian government in 2018. On the sidelines of a demonstration, according to the Iranian authorities, he is said to have stabbed an employee of a water supply company who was a member of the Basij militias . He was arrested with his brother Vahid Afkari on September 17, 2018. Another brother, Habib Afkari, was arrested three months later. The authorities said Navid Afkari confessed to the killing. Navid Afkari himself, his family and human rights organizations counter that the confession was obtained under torture . The Iranian state television showed his confession and recordings of the alleged crime. The Qisās were then imposed on Afkari by an Iranian criminal court in 2018. At the request of the security guard's family, the court sentenced him to death. An Islamic Revolutionary Court handed down another death sentence for Muhāraba . His two brothers, who had taken part in the anti-regime protests with him, were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison. All three were in addition to flogging sentenced to 74 strokes. The ruling was upheld by the country's Supreme Court in 2020 , making it final. Iranian human rights activists said in September 2020 that there was growing concern that enforcement was imminent. The Iran Human Rights Monitor reported in September 2020 that Afkari had been moved to a high-security wing and ill-treated and that he was being denied medical treatment.

The International League for Human Rights and the London-based organization Justice for Iran reported in June 2020 that the Iranian state media had distributed at least 355 forced confessions in the past decade. The country systematically used forced confessions to put pressure on dissidents and scare them.

Navid Afkari was executed in Adel-Abad prison on the morning of September 12, 2020. The death penalty, which should initially only have been imposed after 74 lashes and a prison sentence of six and a half years, was brought forward surprisingly quickly. His family was not allowed to attend his funeral, which was held under strong security the following night in Sangar, a village in the southern Iranian province of Fars .

Reactions

The international wrestling scene showed solidarity with Afkari and protested against the impending execution. The three-time world champion Frank Stäbler shared on Instagram : “The wrestling family and the global sports community are behind him. We fight together to get justice for Navid and his family. " Aline Rotter-Focken , former world champion, wrote on social media:" The wrestling community has a responsibility to stand up. Please save Navid. ”The USA and the IOC had also recently advocated the suspension of the death penalty and were appalled when it was carried out. At the same time, however, the IOC declared that it respected the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The international sports association "Global Athlete" called for sanctions in the field of sports for Iran. The International Olympic Committee and the World Wrestling Federation should ban the country from competitions for this "heinous execution". Even Amnesty International condemned the execution and called consequences. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter: “It is a hideous assault on human dignity, even by the disgusting standards of this regime. The voices of the Iranian people will not be silenced. ”The US politician called the Iranian regime “ brutal and merciless ”.

Individual evidence

↑ Spiegel from September 12, 2020: Wrestler Afkari executed in Iran
↑ ^a ^b Iran broadcast forced confession from Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari on death row amid international condemnation. In: International Observatory of Human Rights. Retrieved September 8, 2020 .
↑ https://www.dw.com/en/iran-executes-champion-wrestler-navid-afkari/a-54903900
↑ https://www.faz.net/aktuell/sport/mehr-sport/ringer-navid-afkari-in-iran-hingerierter-die-schuld-des-sports-16951368.html
↑ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/09/iran-wrestling-champion-navid-afkari-feared-at-risk-of-imminent-secret-execution/
↑ ^a ^b Iranian state TV shows wrestler Navid Afkari's purported murder confession. Retrieved September 8, 2020 .
↑ The wrestling world shows its solidarity with the Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, who has been sentenced to death, and implores: “Save Navid!” September 7, 2020, accessed on September 8, 2020 .
↑ ILNA: Navid Afkari executed. Retrieved September 12, 2020 .
↑ Execution of wrestler Nafid Afkari shocks sports world . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 13, 2020]).
↑ ^a ^b Navid Afkari: Wrestlers protest against death sentence for Iranian colleagues . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 8, 2020]).
↑ Navid Afkari: Trump urges Iran not to execute champion wrestler (en-GB) . In: BBC News , September 4, 2020.
^ IOC Statement on the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari in Iran - Olympic News. September 12, 2020, accessed on September 12, 2020 .
↑ "Abominable execution" of Ringer Afkari is said to have consequences. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. September 13, 2020, accessed on September 13, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Afkari, Navid
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	نوید افکاری (Persian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Iranian wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH	1993
DATE OF DEATH	September 12, 2020
Place of death	Shiraz

[1] Spiegel from September 12, 2020: Wrestler Afkari executed in Iran

[:0-2] Iran broadcast forced confession from Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari on death row amid international condemnation. In: International Observatory of Human Rights. Retrieved September 8, 2020 .

[3] ttps://www.dw.com/en/iran-executes-champion-wrestler-navid-afkari/a-54903900

[4] ttps://www.faz.net/aktuell/sport/mehr-sport/ringer-navid-afkari-in-iran-hingerierter-die-schuld-des-sports-16951368.html

[5] ttps://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/09/iran-wrestling-champion-navid-afkari-feared-at-risk-of-imminent-secret-execution/

[:1-6] Iranian state TV shows wrestler Navid Afkari's purported murder confession. Retrieved September 8, 2020 .

[7] The wrestling world shows its solidarity with the Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, who has been sentenced to death, and implores: “Save Navid!” September 7, 2020, accessed on September 8, 2020 .

[8] ILNA: Navid Afkari executed. Retrieved September 12, 2020 .

[9] Execution of wrestler Nafid Afkari shocks sports world . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 13, 2020]).

[:2-10] Navid Afkari: Wrestlers protest against death sentence for Iranian colleagues . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 8, 2020]).

[:02-11] Navid Afkari: Trump urges Iran not to execute champion wrestler (en-GB) . In: BBC News , September 4, 2020.

[12] IOC Statement on the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari in Iran - Olympic News. September 12, 2020, accessed on September 12, 2020 .

[13] "Abominable execution" of Ringer Afkari is said to have consequences. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. September 13, 2020, accessed on September 13, 2020 .