Outrage over Iran hanging young wrestling star sparks international condemnation
Trace Gallagher discusses the Iranian regime’s execution of a 19-year-old wrestling star and two other young men, which sparked international outrage. Christina Coleman reports on condemnations from Olympic gold medalists Brandon Slay and Tyler Clary. A panel that includes Dr. Houman Hemmati, Shabnam Jaleh and Eve Barlow, analyze the brutal tactics of the regime, the internet blackout and the citizens’ desire for freedom.
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A coalition of athletes, including several Olympians, have signed a letter advocating against Iran for its history and plans to execute star athletes as the planned execution of Iranian boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani approaches.
Sani is a boxing champion, trainer and political prisoner who currently faces imminent risk of execution in Iran by the Ayatollah.
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He was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in March 2020 following his participation in the November 2019 nationwide protests, which were initially sparked by a sudden increase in gas prices. The Iranian judiciary charged him with “corruption on the ground”, which is a capital offense in the country.
The Olympians, led by women’s tennis legend Martina Navratilova and British swimming gold medalist Sharron Davies, are calling on the world’s governing powers and sports bodies to intervene to prevent the execution.
“Currently, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 31-year-old boxing champion and trainer, remains on death row,” the letter said.
“We call on the UN, international sports federations and governments to act immediately to save the lives of Iranian dissidents, including athletes. The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions. We stand with the victims. We stand for justice.”
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The letter also pointed to previous incidents of Iranian executions of star athletes in the country, including 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, whose execution sparked a global outcry in March.
“Since mid-March, Iran has witnessed a horrific onslaught of executions of political dissidents, marking one of the most severe crackdowns in the past three decades. Dozens of people have been executed after unfair trials and coerced confessions. The theocratic regime, fearing another uprising to suppress its cover-up of the war, has taken advantage of the growing war cover. Of these executions were protesters arrested during the January uprising 2026, among them were Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion,” the letter said.
“Tragically, Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national soccer team, who was executed for his ties to the PMOI, and Forouzan Abdi, the captain of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who was executed along with 30,800 political prisoners over the course of 30,800 prisoners. In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after have participated in peaceful protests in 2018.”
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Saleh Mohammadi, an Iranian wrestling champion who was reportedly executed for protest participation earlier this year, is shown next to a billboard in Tehran with Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei on March 10, 2026. (The Foreign Desk/AFP via Getty Images)
The letter includes a total of 24 athletes, including nine Olympians and five Iranians.
- Martina Navratilova — Former world No. 1 women’s tennis player (Czech Republic/USA)
- Soolmaz Abooali — 16-time US champion and three-time world champion in traditional karate (USA)
- Sharron Davies MBE — Swimmer, Olympic medalist (Great Britain)
- Craig Foster AM — Former captain of the Australian national football team (Australia)
- Alberto Frati — Boxer; Former UBO International Super Featherweight Champion (Italy)
- Nikolai Terteryan — Boxer; European Games gold medalist (Denmark)
- Muslim Eskandar Filabi — Olympian; Gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Asian Games (Iran)
- Tracy Edwards MBE — Yachtsman of the Year 1990; Skipper of the first female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race (Great Britain)
- Bahram Mavaddat — Former goalkeeper of the Iran national football team (Iran)
- Carilyn Johnson — Ultra runner; four-time member of Team USA; two-time gold and one-time silver medalist Team member at the IAU 24-hour World Championships (USA)
- Mohammad Ghorbani — Olympian; Gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships and Asian Games (Iran)
- Inga Thompson — Cyclist; Olympic; 10-time US National Champion; three-time world medalist (USA)
- Monica Velvet — Saber Fencer; Olympic bronze medalist; Pan American Games gold medalist (USA)
- Manouchehr Arastoupour — Gold medalist at the World Rowing Masters Regatta (Iran)
- Chris Cook — Swimmer; Olympic; two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist (Great Britain)
- Eli Bremer — Olympian, Modern Pentathlon (USA)
- Ali Ziaei — Former National Sanshou Champion and member of the Canadian National Wushu Team (Canada)
- Vladyslav Heraskevych — Olympian, Skeleton Racer (Ukraine)
- Shea McAleese — Olympian; Former member of the New Zealand hockey team; Commonwealth Games bronze medalist (New Zealand)
- Asghar Adibi — Former member of the Iran national football team (Iran)
- Elham Asem — Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) fighter and referee; BJJ World Amateur Champion; Gold winner at the AJP Lisbon and Milan International Championships (Norway)
- Golpar Parvardeh — Gymnast; EC in TeamGym Silver medalist (Sweden)
- Amin Karimi — Kickboxing; 16 B-class games, 14 wins (Germany)
- James Field — Former captain of the US International Karate Team; Two-time National Grand Champion; Two-time Pan American Champion (USA)
