By Chakradhar Reddy

The execution of Navid Afkari has drawn outrage from across the globe with various sports organizations and athletes condemning the blatant disregard to human rights shown by the Iranian administration.  

[1]He was being accused of murdering an Iranian government’s water and sewage department’s security guard Hasan Turkman when the protests were taking place in 2018. There were several requests made by notable figures across the world to the Iranian government and the judiciary to call of the execution. The world players association (WPA)

The World Players Association (WPA), the leading voice of athletes throughout the world with presence in over 60 countries  has called for the head of the Iranian judiciary to grant an immediate stay of execution to Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who faces the death penalty. [2]It had also called for expulsion of Iran from international sport if they go ahead with sentencing.

Navid afkari, a national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling took part in protests along with many other citizens in 2018 against the poor economic policies of the administration and lack of political freedom in Iran. It is being said this is a message to the citizens of Iran by their government to not raise any voice against the regime or face such consequences. Despite international pressure to not execute navid, the Iranian government in order to avoid a scenario where high profile citizens take a stand against the oppressive regime acted in absolute disregard to the basic fundamental rights of its citizen by torturing and executing him.

According to the reports in Tehran, there was a confession video released by the government in response to the plea of president of the united states to not execute him. The confession video is said to be of navid afkari confessing to killing of the security guard. However the tactics of Iranian government in extracting false confessions by torture is widely known.

Navid afkari underwent a unfair and biased trail by both Iran’s Revolutionary Court as well as ordinary criminal court. His conviction was based on the charges of murder and acting against the god. The supreme court of Iran upheld the lower courts verdict and  handed him two deaths sentences.  The fact that his own brothers were forced to testified against him, before being awarded prison time of 81 years and 74 lashes in the same case proves the failure of Iranian judiciary and its government in giving it’s citizen a free trail.

While Various world organizations have called for sports bodies to ban Iran from participating in various international sports tournaments, it remains to be seen if the global outrage will actually translate into something substantial.