Navid Afkari
Navid Afkari
Born/Date of Birth: 1993
Place of Birth: Shiraz, Iran
Died: September 12, 2020 (aged 26–27), Adel-Abad prison, Shiraz, Iran
Cause of death: Execution by hanging
Resting place: Shiraz
Nationality: Iranian
Criminal charge(s): Murder
Criminal penalty: Death
Criminal status: Executed
Parent(s): Hossein Afkari (father)
Bahieh Namjoo (mother)
Relatives: Habib Afkari (brother)
Vahid Afkari (brother)
Navid Afkari (1993 – September 12, 2020) was an Iranian wrestler who was tortured and sentenced to death by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for a murder that occurred during the 2018 Iranian protests. His brothers Vahid and Habib were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison in the same case, respectively. Afkari was executed in the early morning hours of September 12, 2020 in the Adel-Abad prison in Shiraz.
Wrestling career
Afkari was a national champion in wrestling.
Murder charges
Afkari was charged with murdering Hasan Turkman, a government water and sewage department security agent, during the August 2018 protests in Shiraz.
Confession
While Afkari issued a confession, he would later claim he had been tortured into making a false confession.
His parents sent a letter to the chief justice of Iran about the torture that they claim their son endured.
Death sentence
Afkari was given a death sentence for his murder charges.
According to human rights activists in Iran, Afkari's brothers Vahid and Habib were, respectively, sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison for charges stemming from the same case.
Reactions
Afkari's death sentence sparked global outrage and calls to overturn his execution.
Notable figures, including from U.S. President Donald Trump, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, and UFC President Dana White, pled for Iran not to execute Afkari. Trump tweeted on Sep 4, 2020:
U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, tweeted: "We join the world in outrage at the Iranian regime's death sentence for Navid Afkari, who was tortured into giving a false confession after participating in peaceful protests in 2018. The regime also tortured his two brothers and sentenced them to decades in prison. Let them go!"
The World Players Association urged for the Iranian judiciary to issue a stay of execution.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency dismissed Trump's tweet in a feature story, saying that US sanctions had hurt Iranian hospitals amid the pandemic, "Trump is worried about the life of a murderer while he puts many Iranian patients' lives in danger by imposing severe sanctions," the agency said.
Execution
On September 12, it was announced that, after the Shiraz Turkman's family had refused to forgive Afkari and allow him to pay them restitutions, Afkari had been executed by hanging by the government.
