Amnesty calls for EU, UN to stop execution of Iranian wrestler

Afkari’s forced ‘confession’ was aired on state television by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation in a propaganda video

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Activists of Amnesty International demonstrate to show their support with the Syrian people at the Fontaine des Innocentes in Paris May 29, 2012. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Activists of Amnesty International demonstrate to show their support with the Syrian people at the Fontaine des Innocentes in Paris May 29, 2012.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The London-based human rights organization, Amnesty International, issued  on Friday a dramatic appeal to the EU and UN human rights bodies to save the life of a reportedly innocent Iranian wrestling champion, Navid Afkari, who is facing execution for protesting against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s corruption.
Amnesty said that wrestling champion Navid Afkari is “feared at risk of imminent secret execution.”
The organization continued that “The Iranian authorities must immediately reveal the fate and whereabouts of Navid Afkari, a wrestling champion at imminent risk of being executed in secret, Amnesty International said today, while calling on the international community, including UN human rights bodies and EU member states to urgently intervene.
According to recent information obtained by the organization, Navid Afkari made a short phone call to his family on 6 September and was able to say that he was being held in a wing of Adelabad prison in the city of Shiraz that has high security and harsh conditions, before the call was cut off.”
The fate of Afkair has triggered a global human rights campaign to save his life and secure a review of the alleged sham judicial processes of Afkair and brothers, Vahid and Habib.
“Amnesty International is calling on the international community, including UN human rights bodies and EU member states, to urgently intervene and demand the Iranian authorities immediately reveal the fate and whereabouts of these three brothers and to save Navid Afkari from execution," Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said.
“These brothers are the latest victims of Iran’s deeply flawed criminal justice system, and their case is further evidence that Iranian courts systematically rely on ‘confessions’ obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure criminal convictions, in contravention of international law.”
Amnesty raised alarm bells about the Iranian authorities recently relocating Navid to a secret location on September, 3.
“Given the Iranian authorities’ history of carrying out executions in secret after transferring people out of their regular places of detention and refusing to provide their families information about their fate and whereabouts, Amnesty International fears that he is at risk of being executed in secret.”
Vahid and  Habib Afkari, were also, according to Amnesty, “moved in a violent manner by prison authorities from the general ward to an undisclosed location two days later.”
Navid was arrested on 17 September 2018 and Iran’s clerical regime imposed  two death sentences – one for qesas (retribution in kind) by a criminal court and a second one for moharebeh (enmity against God) by a Revolutionary Court –for the alleged murder of an intelligence agent. The alleged killing  took place in the city of Shiraz during nation-wide protests against the worsening economic situation in August, 2018.
Amnesty wrote that on  September 5,Afkari’s “forced ‘confession’ was aired on state television by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation in a propaganda video that tried to justify his death sentence and divert attention away from his serious allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.”
Iran’s judiciary sentenced Vahid and Habib to 56 years and six months in prison, and 24 years and three months in prison respectively, and 74 lashes each, for their alleged role same murder.
Iran also charged the Vahid and Habid  “national security” offenses in connection with nation-wide protests.
Amnesty wrote that “The brothers faced multiple criminal proceedings, all of which were grossly unfair and relied on forced “confessions” which the brothers have said were obtained under torture. None of the judges presiding over their cases ordered investigations into their torture allegations. All three brothers have maintained their innocence.”  
The human rights organization said that “The Iranian authorities have a long-standing record of working with state television to produce and broadcast coerced statements obtained from victims of human rights violations under torture and other ill-treatment, and including them in propaganda videos that distort the reality of the human rights violations perpetrated by the authorities or seek to justify them.”


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