Navid Afkari

Navid Afkari Sangari (; 22 July 1993 – 12 September 2020) was an Iranian wrestler who was sentenced to death and executed in Shiraz after being accused and convicted of murdering a security guard during the 2018 Iranian protests; sources from outside Iran also cited convictions on other charges related to Afkari's participation in the protests, while Iranian sources denied that the case had any connection to the protests. Afkari had filed a complaint with the Iranian judiciary, and stated in an audiotape recording that was smuggled from his prison, that his initial confession had been forced due to torture; There were worldwide calls for Afkari to be pardoned, including by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach,

Wrestling career Navid Afkari had been a wrestler, having discovered the sport at the age of nine, In 2016, he ranked 8th place nationally in the 71 kg category for Greco-Roman wrestling.

Turkman was murdered on the night of 1 August 2018 (on 2 August 2018 according to the official version Afkari had been identified by police via the footage that was later reported to be the version of events prevailing inside of Iran. According to Afkari's lawyer Ali Younesi, there was no evidence linking him to that case. In an interview with "Emtedad" news network that was published by Deutsche Welle, Younesi claimed the sentencing court had been influenced by two sources that they claim showed Afkari as the murderer. According to Younesi, the court used CCTV footage of a street near where Turkman was found dead, but showed the scene before Turkman's death. Footage from the moment when the felony took place was claimed to not exist.

The video was reported to show Afkari walking on the sidewalk while talking on the phone. According to audio recordings from the court, Afkari had requested that the video be presented to the court, which head judge, Mehrdad Tahmtan refused. In addition to the CCTV footage, the court used eye-witness accounts as the other evidence for linking Afkari with Turkman's murder case. The accounts were later dropped by the people that initially testified against Afkari. One testified under pressure, another said that their testimony was not right or accurate and another one mentioned that they had met Afkari for the first time during the court.

For his involvement in the protests, and further the alleged murder case, the court led by the head judge, Mehrdad Tahmtan, sentenced Afkari with two capital punishments. After his sentencing, Afkari found this ruling unjust, and he voiced his concerns. In one of his voice calls from the Adel-Abaad prison, he said:

He insisted his innocence stating:

People! It is only logical that I will fight for my life; and as per the evidence, all clues are an affirmation to my innocence. All the evidence that we have collected and everything that I am saying right now, is only here to let you know that if I ever get executed, in the 21st century and with all the human right organizations, the UN or security council or the whatever else, an innocent human being, which had tried to the best of his might and fought, to have his voice heard, was hanged. As per the audio recordings released by the court, Afkari's request to summon the witness who testified about his torture was ignored by the judge.

In one of his last recordings from prison,

Reactions Afkari's death sentence sparked global outrage and calls to overturn his execution. U.S. President Donald Trump, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White all petitioned Iran not to execute Afkari. Trump tweeted on 4 September 2020: Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai [sic], whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets. They were protesting the “country’s worsening economic situation and inflation”. To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man’s life, and not execute him. Thank you!

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!"

Potential banning of Iran from the Olympics There have been talks about whether Iran should be banned from the Olympic Games. Australian sports administrator Brendan Schwab, executive director of the Switzerland-based World Players Association, which represents tens of thousands of professional athletes around the world, said that:

Schwab stated that Afkari's execution "must result in Iran forfeiting its right to be a part of sport's universal community".

Death and burial On 12 September 2020, it was announced that Afkari had been executed. by sharia law, also written in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There were also reports that the family of Turkman was about to agree to drop their call for qisas (retribution). They were to have a meeting to discuss the matter with the other side the day Afkari was announced dead. His brother received the news of Afkari's death through a call shortly before his plane was due to depart for Shiraz in order to go and visit the Turkmans.

Allegations were made by witnesses that Afkari had been tortured prior to execution. There were signs of blunt trauma on Afkari's body, his face was deformed and he had a broken nose. The cloth with which his body had been carried to the burial was stained with blood from the inside. These accounts led to suspicions that the official version of Afkari's execution had been intended to forestall public anger. Winnipeg, Edmonton, Frankfurt, Paris, Berlin, London, Gothenburg, The Hague, Bern, Brussels, Copenhagen, Rome, Malmö, Hamburg and Washington.

Sister's arrest Elham Afkari, Navid's sister, was arrested on November 10, 2022 amidst the nationwide protests in Iran following the Death of Mahsa Amini. Iranian officials have charged her with being an agent of Iran International, the opposition television broadcaster which was recently called a “terrorist” organization by the Iranian intelligence minister. She is in the custody of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence.

In popular culture Afkari and his death was the inspiration for the song titled Navid Azadi (lit. beacon of freedom) by Iranian artist King Raam. The 2021 art project PaykanArtCar was inspired by Afkari, as was Amir Zargara's 2024 short film A Good Day Will Come.

A campaign in the name of "United For Navid" was founded by Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad to draw attention to Iran's Islamic republic regime’s abuse of Iranian athletes' human rights.