The Olympics and other world sporting bodies need to take a stronger stance against the Islamic regime, former Iranian champion wrestler and national wrestling team head coach Sardar Pashaei told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday night, days after Iran executed 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi.
Pashaei, whose own dreams were cut short by the regime, said sporting bodies were more concerned with maintaining relations with politicians and making profits than with the lives of the athletes they are partially responsible for.
Mohammadi was hanged on Thursday morning in Qom alongside Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, after being found guilty of murdering two police officers during the January protests.
Human rights groups have condemned the killing, noting that the men were tortured into giving confessions they later withdrew, the regime failed to provide proof of their involvement, and their families testified the men were elsewhere during the alleged attack.
Pashaei: Iran's arrests and executions a 'circus of the regime'
“Saleh was not guilty. He went to the street alongside 1000s of other young protesters. This is a circus of the regime. They arrest, torture, and make forced confessions. It happened to 1000s of other prisoners,” Pashaei asserted. “Nobody believed in that corrupt judiciary system.”
While many have claimed that Mohammadi’s high profile allowed the regime to send a message of intimidation against those wanting to protest in the future, Pashaei said that silence surrounding the prisoners was more dangerous, allowing the regime to get away with torture and human rights violations that they would otherwise be scrutinized for.
“I think the Iranian regime wants silence. They don't want any news. And when they contact the families of the prisoners, this is the first thing they tell them: ‘Do not share this media. Do not make this public,’ but we know what they mean, and we know what their plan is,” he explained.
Athletes have never been spared from the Islamic regime’s brutality, Pahaei shared, recounting the 2020 execution of 27-year-old wrestler Naveed Afkari, who was accused of killing a member of the regime’s security apparatus during the 2018 protests.
“In 2020, when the Islamic regime was going to execute Naveed Afkari, we did everything. You wouldn't believe how many times we contacted the International Olympic Committee. They have done nothing to protect him,” Pahaei bemoaned, visibly saddened by the lack of action six years later. “They always give you the response: ‘We can't change the law,’ but [the committee] has tools to put pressure on the regime, and also we're just asking this simple question: When one of your members states violating your Olympic Charter, why don't they get punished”?
“They have banned 40 million women from many sports, like wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics. Is it against the Olympic Charter? They arrest, torture, and execute an athlete? Does that make you worry about the Olympic Charter? And also, where is gender equality? What about Iranian athletes not being allowed to compete against Israeli athletes?” he continued, noting the fundamental inequalities in the regime. “So all of this is a clear violation of the charter. They are aware of that, but they do nothing, and it's very irresponsible, but we keep pushing, doing our campaign and raising awareness from the media.”
Asked about the situation whereby members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were given humanitarian visas to remain in Australia after playing in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Pashaei said he did not want to see his country excluded from sporting events, as they can prove a useful way for victims of the regime to escape with the protection of international eyes. Instead, he said he wanted to see a ban on the regime’s flag, its officials, and sporting officials with ties to the IRGC.
Pashaei was a gold medalist and national wrestling champion who participated in a number of international tournaments and later served as head coach of Iran’s national wrestling team. Despite his long list of achievements, he was banned from entering wrestling gyms due to his ethnic identity as a Kurd and told by a member of the IRGC that he was no longer allowed to travel with his team, which led him to leave the country for Turkey in 2009 and seek a new future in the United States in 2010.
“I think this is no surprise, because if you are Kurdish, if you are Jewish, a woman, any minority, you face different layers of discrimination,” he shared. “And so that's why in 2010 I finally I had to leave the country and go to the United States. So yes, I was a young athlete, but unfortunately, they took away my dream to become a one big champion and all just because I’m Kurdish.”
While no longer a wrestler, the experience led Pashaei to follow his father’s path into activism, and he now works as the Executive Director of Hiwa, a US-based organization advocating for a secular and democratic system that ensures equality, dignity, and justice for Kurds and all nations in Iran.
Activism comes at a cost in Iran, he noted, sharing that his father, sister, and brothers have been arrested and abused by the regime for demonstrating on a number of issues, including in favor of women’s rights.
Pashaei concluded the interview by saying the regime wouldn’t silence him, even as Tehran keeps his family “hostage.”