What is known about the possible execution of an Iranian player who has been generating a wave of protests on the networks

Iranian professional soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani, 26, could be sentenced to death after taking part in protests for women’s rights in his country.

He is formally accused of being a member of an armed group responsible for the murder of three security agents on November 16 in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, according to the BBC Persian service.

Authorities in that country said he confessed to the crime and that they have security camera recordings and other evidence against him and his co-defendants, who total nine people.

The Iranian government also said a verdict against the athlete had yet to be issued. Under Iran’s penal code, his sentence could carry the death penalty if Nasr-Azadani is proven to have used a firearm.

The Iranian court said it would continue to “act decisively without paying attention to media hype”.

This comes after social media campaigns inside and outside Iran expressing support for Nasr-Azadani and fears that his “execution is imminent”.

Colombian singer Shakira was one of the people who took advantage of the World Cup final last Sunday (18) to draw attention to the arrest of Nasr-Azadani.

“Today, in the World Cup final, I just hope that the players on the field and the whole world will remember that there is a man and fellow footballer named Amir Nasr, sentenced to death solely for defending women’s rights,” wrote the artist on his personal Twitter account.

Shakira’s post joins that of countless personalities, athletes and celebrities from around the world who have been asking for days for her possible execution to be annulled.

“Are we going to sit idly by and look the other way? Enough. STOP,” Spanish soccer player Marc Bartra also wrote on Twitter.

“This is unacceptable. All with Amir Nasr-Azadani,” added Colombian soccer player Radamel Falcao in turn.

Meanwhile, the global union of professional footballers (Fifpro) wrote that it was “shocked and disgusted by the news that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and freedoms fundamental in his country”.

“We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for his punishment to be overturned immediately.”

Who is Amir Nasr-Azadani?

Nasr-Azadani was born in February 1996 in Isfahan, central Iran.

He started his football career with the Sepahan Sport Club team from Isfahan, which plays in the Iran Pro League, now known as the Persian Gulf Pro League, the highest category of professional football in Iran.

In 2014, he joined Tehran Rah-Ahan, one of the oldest clubs in Iran and currently playing in the Azadegan League, the second most important in the country.

A year later, he was hired by Tractor Sports Club, from the city of Tabriz, in northwest Iran, where he stayed until 2019.

Later, he became part of the Gol Reyhan Alborz team.

Azadani Prison

Amir Nasr-Azadani faces a possible sentence of execution once his trial concludes.

The Islamic Republic’s judicial system can hang you for an offense called “moharebeh”.

On 17 November 2022, the death of Colonel Esmaeil Cheraghi came to light during nationwide protests.

Three days later, on 20 November, the state broadcaster IRIB broadcast a video containing the forced confessions of three people who claimed to have participated in Cheraghi’s murder.

Following the video, authorities later released the name of Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani as one of the suspects, along with Saleh Mirhashmi and Saeed Yaghoubi.

Local sources claimed that Azadani had participated in the protests, but that his involvement in the killing of the military officer was a lie because he was not in the area where the man was killed.

‘Hate Against God’

In recent weeks, Iran has already carried out two executions linked to anti-government protests held in recent months in which citizens rebelled against the regime of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Protests against the Iranian cleric, led by women, erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested by the so-called morality police on Sept. 13 for allegedly wearing the hijab inappropriately.

The demonstrations spread to 161 cities in all 31 provinces of the country and are considered one of the most serious challenges against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

In this context, the Iranian football team recently refused to sing the national anthem during the opening match of the World Cup in Qatar against England.

Iran’s leaders have called the protests “riots” instigated by the country’s foreign enemies. However, the overwhelming majority of demonstrations have been peaceful.

At least 26 people are currently “at grave risk of execution in connection with the nationwide protests after Iranian authorities arbitrarily executed two people following grossly unfair mock trials in an attempt to instil fear among the public and end the protests.” “, said the NGO Amnesty International through a statement.

Of those 26 people, at least 11 are on death row and 15 are accused of capital crimes and are awaiting or being tried, it added.

Who were the first executed?

The authorities publicly hanged Majidreza Rahnavard, 23 years old, in the early hours of Monday (12), in the city of Mashhad, announced the Iranian Justice.

A court convicted him of “hatred against God” after finding him guilty of stabbing to death two members of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary force.

Rahnavard was executed just 23 days after his arrest “in the presence of a group of Mashhadi citizens”.

In a video broadcast on state TV on November 19, Rahnavard is seen blindfolded and his left arm in a cast after his arrest.

In the video, he says he did not deny attacking Basij members, but that he could not remember the details because he was not sane.

State TV also aired on the 12th of this month what it described as his subsequent “confession” before the Revolutionary Tribunal.

The highest Iranian authorities, starting with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have ensured that the protests are instigated from abroad.

Activists point out that state media often broadcast false confessions of detainees who were forced to undergo torture and other cruel treatment.

Meanwhile, the first execution of a protester took place on December 8, triggering international condemnation.

Mohsen Shekari, 23, was also convicted of “hatred against God” after being found guilty of attacking a Basij member with a machete in Tehran.

Mizan news agency previously said he had been accused of stabbing two Basij members to death in a street in Mashad on 17 November.

The Basij group is a volunteer force often deployed by Iranian authorities to suppress dissent.

Human rights organizations have warned that protesters are being sentenced to death in illegitimate courts without due process of law.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Iranian human rights organization based in Norway, tweeted that Rahnavard’s sentence was based on “forced confessions, after an extremely unfair and spectacularized trial”.

This text was published on the BBC News Brasil website.