Iran’s judiciary on Thursday executed 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi in the holy city of Qom, despite urgent appeals from foreign governments and human rights groups to halt the death sentence imposed over his role in anti-government protests against the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mohammadi, a decorated freestyle wrestler from Qom who had reportedly competed in international tournaments, was arrested in January during nationwide demonstrations calling for an end to Iran’s clerical rule and greater political freedoms. Rights groups say he was charged with “enmity against God” and accused of involvement in the death of a security officer, allegations he denied, insisting his televised “confessions” were extracted under torture and other ill-treatment.
A court in Qom sentenced him to public hanging under the Islamic Republic’s qesas, or “retribution-in-kind,” laws after what observers described as a rushed trial marred by due process violations, including lack of access to an independent lawyer and reliance on torture-tainted statements. Despite mounting international pressure including a public call from the United States to halt the execution – authorities proceeded with the sentence, with activists saying he was hanged at dawn in Qom Central Prison as a warning to other protesters.
Human rights organizations and Iranian dissidents abroad have condemned the execution as a “political murder,” arguing that the regime is deliberately targeting popular athletes and public figures in an attempt to crush the protest movement through fear.
Campaigners are urging global sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, to suspend Iran from international competition over its use of the death penalty against athletes linked to peaceful dissent.
