NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Iran is seeking to execute a decorated Iranian wrestler simply for demonstrating peacefully against the regime in early January, prompting the US State Department on Wednesday to demand that Tehran overturn the death sentence for 19-year-old Saleh Mohammadi.
Wrestling is a national pastime in Iran and a sport favored by President Donald Trump, who tried to save the life of Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari in 2020. Iran’s clerical regime executed Afkari for his role in a 2018 demonstration against the theocratic state’s economic and political corruption.
According to the official X account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Farsi, a post on Wednesday read: “The US is deeply concerned by reports that 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi is facing imminent execution. The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is massacring young people and destroying the future of Iran. We call on them to sentence the Saleh Mohama regime to stop the sentence of the Iranian Modi regime. to death for exercising their fundamental rights #SalehMohammadi #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights #IranProtest.”
Iranian-American Sardar Pashaei, who won a Greco-Roman world wrestling title for Iran and coached the country’s elite Greco-Roman team, told Pakinomist Digital: “In less than 10 days, the Iranian regime shot more than 30 athletes across the country. The youngest was only 15 years old as the national team coach, your national coach and your national coach. referees every single one of them were shot dead.”
IRAN ACCUSED OF SEX ASSASSING TEENAGE PRISONERS, WHILE FAMILIES CHARGED TO RELIEVE THE REMAINS OF LOVED ONES
He added that his organization, Hiwa, “has documented only confirmed cases. Many more athletes remain missing, imprisoned or at risk of torture and execution, while families across Iran continue to search for their loved ones without answers or justice.” He praised the State Department’s actions in publicly calling for Saleh Mohammadi’s release.
Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi faces imminent execution in Iran for taking part in protests as international pressure mounts to save the athlete. (The Foreign Desk)
FORMER IRANIAN PRISONER DENIES TORTURE CHARGES AS REGIME KILLS DEMONSTRATORS UNDER COVERAGE
Pashaei continued: “A regime that imprisons, tortures and murders its own athletes has no place in the international sports community. Sports must never be used to launder blood. Hiwa is preparing an official letter demanding that the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling suspend and ban Iran from all international competitions.”
Security forces of the Islamic Republic seized Olympic wrestler Alireza Nejati, who has won medals in world championships, after he posted a message on social media to his more than 78,000 Instagram followers. The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.
“I wish everyone a beautiful weekend full of success and good vibes,” the 27-year-old Greco-Roman wrestling champion wrote on January 7. He ended his message with, “This is the end.”
Pakinomist Digital emailed press inquiries and made phone calls to UWW.
An IOC spokesperson told Pakinomist Digital that “Unfortunately, today’s world is divided and full of conflicts and tragedies. The IOC cares deeply about the plight of athletes around the globe and is concerned whenever it learns of individual cases of ill-treatment. At this moment, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes unfolding in their country, who are affected by their country and conflicts. Tragedies elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, these situations are more often brought to our attention on because of the increasingly divided world we live in.”
The spokesman continued: “The IOC is a sports organization whose mission and success is based on bringing the world together in peaceful competition. We must be realistic about the IOC’s ability to directly influence global and national affairs. At the same time, we will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet Olympic diplomacy. The IOC remains in contact with Iran.”
IRAN TO EXECUTE 2ND WRESTLER, DEVELOPING CONNECTION FROM US STATE DEPARTMENT
Iranians in Canada at Mel Lastman Square demonstrate against the Iranian regime’s execution of wrestler Navid Afkari in Toronto, Ontario, September 15, 2020. The death sentence sparked international outrage, yet the regime persisted. (Photo by Sayed Najafizada/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari, a leading expert on Iran, told Pakinomist Digital: “Saleh Mohammadi is a 19-year-old athlete whose only ‘crime’ was standing with his people, but he now faces an imminent death sentence designed to make an example of him and horrify an entire nation. It would be a terrifying execution. shot at any young Iranian who dares to dream of freedom – and the world’s reaction will show protesters whether they really are alone or not.”
She added: “By threatening to kill its youth – its athletes, artists, musicians and brightest minds – the regime is making it clear that it does not see the Iranian people as its future, but as a threat to be silenced.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Pakinomist Digital reached out to the US State Department for comment.
