Shakira calls for solidarity with the Iranian soccer player sentenced to death

In the midst of the hubbub for the 2022 Qatar World Cup final, the successful Colombian interpreter Shakira called on soccer fans to show solidarity with Amir Nasr-Azadani, a 26-year-old Iranian soccer player who would have been sentenced to death due to his express support for women’s rights.

“I just hope that the players on the field and the whole world remember that there is a man and fellow footballer named Amir Nasr, sentenced to death, just for speaking out for women’s rights.”, wrote the artist on Twitter.

He also added a second message where he asked his followers to join their voice in protest and put pressure on the Iranian government. “Hopefully there will be more than one minute of silence in our hearts to remember what is important and more than one united voice shouting for what is fair“, public.

Controversy over veracity of the sentence

The popularized version states that Nasr-Azadani faces possible execution after her participation in public protests for women’s rights in her country.

However, recently the BBC Persian Service reported that the footballer would be accused of being a member of a group responsible for the murder of three security agents in the city of Isfahan (central Iran). Iranian officials said he would have confessed to the crime and have enough evidence against him and his co-defendants, nine people in all.

“The judiciary has denied that he has been sentenced to death. They say that he is formally accused of serious criminal activities, including murder (which means that he faces the death penalty), but stress that the trial itself has not yet taken place, ”the European media explain.

This official version is called into question because Iran is currently in the midst of a wave of protests for attacks against the lives and rights of women. Organizations such as Amnesty International have demanded from the UN and the Human Rights Council an independent investigation with its corresponding accountability mechanism in light of the death sentences, torture and other abuses registered in that country.