A boxing champion has been sentenced to death for ‘protests’ as part of the gruesome execution in Iran.
Mohammad Javad, 26, could be killed during his November 2019 protests against his country’s economic corruption.
His sentence, reported by the Jerusalem Post, follows the execution of champion wrestler Navid Afkari, 27, who was hanged in Shiraz in September 2020.
Afkari was accused of killing a state guard during the anti-government protests in the summer of 2018.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Navid and his brother Vahid Afkari were severely tortured to make confessions.
Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad promoting the #United4Navid movement about:blank . launched
She tweeted on Saturday: “Death sentence for another athlete in Iran for the crime of protesting in November 2019.
“Mohammad Javad, 26, is a boxing champion. They sentenced him to death for “spreading corruption on Earth.”
“We couldn’t save Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari. World athletes may be able to help us this time.”
She added: “Before she was executed, Navid Afkari said, ‘Islamic Republic is looking for a neck to tie a noose around.’
“This time, Mohammad Javad Vafaei is being executed for the crime of participating in nationwide protests in Iran.
“We Iranians are calling on global athletes to be his voice. #UnitedforNavid.”
Experts have noted that the charge of “spreading corruption from the earth” is often used against protesters in order to dispel any opposition to the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
After Afkari’s death, two more athletes were executed.
Boxer Ali Mutairi, 30, was reportedly severely tortured in Sheiban Prison, leading to his false confession that he killed two Basij militiamen in 2018.
Champion wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini was also executed last year.
Figures show that Iran carries out about 250 executions per year, in addition to 100 executions of children per year.
The country’s barbaric system of punishment includes hanging from cranes in public, using horrific electric shocks and flogging.
This article originally appeared on The sun and is reproduced here with permission.
.