Who is Amir Nasr-Azadani, the footballer sentenced to death by the Iranian regime, accused of

Until a few days ago, few out of Iran they knew who Amir Nasr-Azadani was. But now his face is everywhere: in the petitions of human rights organizations, on the covers of international newspapers, in statements from entities such as Fifpro, in the Instagram stories of prominent figures, political leaders and top athletes. level. Everyone shares the image of this young footballer with one goal: stop his execution.

This Tuesday, the former player of Rah-Ahan, Tractor and Gol-e Rayhan, 26, was accused by the Iranian regime of a crime called moharebeh (“enmity with God”), punished with the hanginga pity that the young people already suffered Mohsen Shekari Y Majid Reza Rahnavard, both 23 years old, for their participation in the massive protests in defense of women’s rights that broke out in September of this year following the death of Mahsa Amini.

SIGHT: Iran publicly hangs young Majidreza Rahnavard over protests, second execution in a week

amini22 years old, was arrested by the morality police because she was not wearing her veil properly and died in custody. According to witnesses, the security forces hit her on the head when she was inside a police van He took her to a detention center. The government claims that she had a health problem.

The execution of MajidReza Rahnavard in the city of Mashhad. (MIZAN NEWS).

Amini, 22, was detained by the morality police because she was not wearing her veil properly and died in custody. According to witnesses, the security forces hit her on the head when she was inside a police van He took her to a detention center. The government claims that she had a health problem.

Since then, thousands of angry Iranians, including Nasr-Azadani, have taken to the streets to protest women’s rights and the lack of freedoms in the country.

The footballer’s family has also “been repeatedly threatened by the security forces of the Islamic Republic” if they revealed that their relative was detainedsomething that finally transcended.

Who is Nasr-Azadani?

Nasr-Azadani was born in February 1996 in Isfahan, a city located in the center of Iran, known for its Persian architecture. He started playing soccer in the youth ranks of Sepahan Sport Club in his hometown. In 2014, she joined the Tehran Rah-Ahan team, one of the oldest football clubs in Iran, and first played in Iran Pro-League (IPL)the highest sports competition in the country (later the club was relegated to the Azadegan League).

He joined the Tractor a year later and was part of the team until 2019, when he was removed a year after suffer a cruciate ligament tear.

In 2020, he joined Gol-e Rayhan, but he was injured again shortly after and had to undergo surgery to treat his leg. He was also invited to join the Iran youth national team.

It is because of her profession that Fifprothe world association of professional players, was the first to speak out about the Nasr-Azadani case.

“Fifpro is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani is facing execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedoms in his country. We stand in solidarity with Amir and We call for the immediate removal of his punishmenthe tweeted on Tuesday, drawing global attention to the issue.

FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country.

We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment. pic.twitter.com/vPuylCS2ph

—FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) December 12, 2022

forced confession

The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the Islamic Republic of Iran and quoted by the outlet IranWirereported on November 17, 2022 that Colonel Esmaeil Cheraghi had been killed during nationwide protests.

Three days later, the state broadcaster IRIB released a video of the forced confessions of three people charged with the murder of Cheraghi. Citing Iranian security institutions, they claimed that Those responsible for the death of Cheraghi and two other members of the Basij paramilitary force had been arrested in the city of Isfahan.

The two Basij members were named Mohammed Hossein Karimi and Mohsen Hamidi. IRIB did not name the defendants, but following the release of the videos, the identities of the three main defendants were published on social media: Amir Nasr-Azadani, Saleh Mirhashmi, and Saeed Yaghoubi.

Sources of IranWire they said that Nasr-Azadani he had participated in some protests, but that he was never present in the area where the Iranian military died.

The source also claimed that their presence at the protests was brief and was limited to chanting slogans for a few hours.

According to the president of the Supreme Court of the province of Isfahan, Asadolá Jafarí, “the defendant (Azadani) has openly confessed his criminal actions. There is also video from local cameras and there is sufficient documentation that this person is a member of an armed group, and the indictment has been issued based on these documents.”

If the Iranian authorities do not withdraw the conviction, Nasr-Azadani would suffer the same fate as Majid Reza Rahnavard, a wrestler who was hanged in public for participating in the same protests, an execution that was shown in the public media and that also generated rejection around the world.

Source: Elcomercio