Statement by 150 People: Execution Order of Afkari and November Massacre Order Came from Same Center

A group of political activists, civil society figures, and human rights defenders in a statement they released said the execution order for Navid Afkari came from the same center that issued the order to shoot and kill hundreds of protesters in November 2019, and had no purpose other than intimidating the people.

150 political figures, civil society activists, and human rights defenders on Thursday, September 27 (September 17) released a statement saying: “The order to expedite the execution of Navid Afkari came from the same center that issued the order to shoot and kill hundreds of protesting people in November 2019”.

The signatories of the statement believe that this order was issued with the same purpose as the killing of November 2019 protesters, namely intimidating the people and suppressing dissent.

Referring to the numerous contradictions and flaws in the case that Iran’s judiciary constructed for Navid Afkari, they wrote: “The issuance of two execution sentences for Navid (murder and enmity against God) had previously been done so that his execution would be carried out by any possible means. However, the rush to carry it out happened after the fundamental legal flaws and apparent contradictions in the oppressors’ weak scenario began to be exposed. Including the apparent contradiction between the location of the knife wound in the video account of the father of the deceased, which shows the right side of his son’s neck and shoulder, with the torture-induced staging in which Navid targeted the left shoulder and arm!; the testimony of a notary of a person who had testified to Navid’s actions, based on the fact that he made that confession under pressure and torture, and the opposite testimony of a witness who was present in the police office observing Navid’s torture and….”.

The statement also referred to the Islamic Republic’s disregard for widespread efforts within Iran and around the world to prevent the execution of Navid Afkari, and wrote that despite international calls for justice, “the house of Wilayat of power and the criminal head of the judiciary, disregarding this public demand, hastily and without observing minimum usual legal and humanitarian procedures, executed Navid the athlete and gypsum worker. Navid who had said ‘They are looking for a neck for their rope’. Navid who had said ‘Throughout the years I was wrestling, I never faced a dishonorable opponent. But for two years, my family and I have been struggling against the most dishonorable opponent in history, injustice’.

These political and civil activists said that “this rush in crime essentially stems from the depths of fear” of the Islamic Republic’s rulers “from the protests of the deprived and impoverished of society…. but these hatreds will find their way tomorrow and will reach the streets and will create another December and another November”.

At the end of the statement, the Islamic Republic was warned for the hundredth thousandth time: “Do_not_execute”.

Mansour Farhangi, Amir Memini, Hassan Yousefi Ashkuri, Maryam Setohte, Mahdiyeh Golrou, Niloufar Beizai, Mansoureh Shojae’i, Kazem Alamdari, Hassan Naib Hashem, Mohammad Oliaei Fard, Ali Afshari, Behrooz Beyat, Behzad Karimi, Behrooz Khaliq, Reza Alameh Zadeh are among the signatories of the statement.

Open Letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee and the President of the World Wrestling Organization

In another move, 77 university professors, journalists, writers, poets, doctors, lawyers, artists, athletes, and Iranian human rights activists residing outside Iran also wrote an open letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee and the President of the World Wrestling Organization in protest of Navid Afkari’s execution.

In their letter to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Nenand Lalovic, President of the World Wrestling Organization, they wrote:

“The Islamic regime in Iran, ignoring all national and international requests, with surprising speed, hanged Navid without allowing a final visit with his family; unconfirmed reports suggest that he was killed under torture. Security forces, fearing popular protests and a large funeral procession, hastily and without notice buried Navid in a village.”.

The authors of the letter pointed out that Iran’s sports federations “remained silent out of fear of the regime’s violent treatment”. For this reason, the signatories of the letter strongly believe that “pressure from international sports organizations and threats to the Islamic regime about the consequences of these criminal acts is an important step in protecting the rights and lives of others who are at risk of execution in the Islamic Republic’s prisons.”.

They emphasized: “This is the only language understandable to the Islamic regime”.

This letter was signed by, among others, Yerouand Abrahamyan, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Saeed Pivandeh, Reza Alijani, Hossein Faraji, Parvez Ghalichkhani, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Nasim Khaksar, Shadi Sadr, Ali Akbar Mahdi, Masoud Naqrekar, Shahrzad Mojab, and Abbas Milani.

Navid Afkari’s execution shocked and angered many. The European Union, Germany, and France condemned this crime.

Athletes did not remain silent either. Among the sports figures and organizations that protested Navid Afkari’s execution were Dagmar Freitag, Chair of the Sports Commission in the German Parliament, and the German athletes’ association, who, after Navid Afkari’s execution, called on the International Olympic Committee to take “practical measures” against Iran and said that Navid Afkari’s execution should not go without consequences for the Islamic Republic.

Omid Nouripour, representative of the Green Party, and Bijan Girseraiah, spokesman for the foreign policy of the Free Democrats party in Germany, criticized German politicians and the European Union for their insistence on improving relations with the Iranian regime at any cost.

Barbel Koffler, human rights official at the German Foreign Ministry, protested the long prison sentences of Afkari brothers and Navid Afkari’s execution sentence.

Joe Biden, Democratic Party candidate in the U.S. presidential election, called Navid Afkari’s execution ruthless and shocking.

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, welcomed the cancellation of Mohammad Javad Zarif’s, Iran’s Foreign Minister, travel plans by posting two tweets. Mohammad Javad Zarif was scheduled to travel this week to three European countries, among them, to participate in talks regarding the nuclear agreement. The Islamic Republic denied that the cancellation of Zarif’s trip to Germany was due to concerns about the consequences of Navid Afkari’s execution and said the reason for the trip not taking place was logistical and health problems related to the coronavirus disease.

Farah Pahlavi, Iran’s last Empress, in a statement recalled Navid Afkari as a hero who lost his life in the way of freedom and justice, and extended her condolences to his grieving mother and family.

Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last prince, also wrote in a message to the leaders of the Islamic government that “by killing and secretly burying an innocent young man, and depriving his grieving mother of a final visit, you will not silence the voice of a nation’s protest.”.

Source: DW