Trump Urges Iranian Leaders: Do Not Execute Navid Afkari

The U.S. President continued in his tweet: “They were protesting the worsening economic conditions in the country and inflation. To the leaders of Iran, I would be very grateful if you would spare the life of this young man and not execute him. Thank you!”

Morgan Ortagus, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, also called for the release of the Afkari brothers. Ortagus tweeted: “We join the world in outrage at Iran’s regime issuing an execution order for Navid Afkari, who was tortured after participating in peaceful protests in 2018 and forced to make false confessions. The regime also tortured his two brothers and sentenced them to decades in prison. Free them!”

The messages from Donald Trump and Morgan Ortagus came several days after the release of a video message from Bahareh Namjoo, the mother of Navid, Vahid, and Habib Afkari, three of those condemned in the August 2018 protests.

The mother of the Afkari brothers recounted that her son Vahid was subjected to such severe “physical and psychological torture” that he attempted suicide three times. According to this mother, her son Vahid was severely tortured to force him to confess against his brother Navid.

The mother of the Afkari brothers requested in her video message that a “genuine” trial be held to review the cases of her sons. She emphasized: “Now I ask for help from people around the world and in Iran, and anyone who hears my voice, for the unjust verdict issued against my sons.”

After the mother’s message was posted on social media, many human rights organizations and Iranian users called for the release of this Shiraz mother’s three sons. Persian-language and English-language cyberspace was filled with hashtags “Do not execute our Navid” and “savenavidafkari.”

Two courts in Shiraz, in separate trials, sentenced Navid, Vahid, and Habib Afkari to execution, imprisonment, and flogging for participating in the August 2018 protests. According to HRANA news agency, the court sentenced Vahid Afkari to 54 years and six months in prison and his brother Habib to 27 years and three months in prison. All three brothers were also each sentenced to 74 lashes.

In the Shiraz court, it was claimed that Navid Afkari confessed during interrogations to killing a Basij colleague at Kazerun Water and Wastewater Company who was on assignment in Shiraz.

Navid Afkari rejected the court’s claim, stating that his confession was made under torture and that after being released from torture, he wrote letters and filed complaints with various authorities. Navid stated that according to forensic medicine and a witness, it has been proven that he was tortured and his confession was made under torture, and there is no evidence or proof of his guilt.

Navid, in an audio message, referring to this issue, said: “They did not want to hear my voice; we realized they were looking for a neck for their noose.”

Hassan Younesi, lawyer for the Afkari brothers, Navid and Vahid, in an interview with the news network “Emtedad,” stated that his clients’ confession was obtained through torture, there is no image of the moment of the crime, and the video alleged in court was from an hour before the time of the murder.

Many international wrestling stars have also called for the cancellation of Navid Afkari’s execution sentence and asked Iranian leaders to release this wrestler.

Iranian officials have not responded to international requests.

The events of August 2018, like the protests of December 2016, were the most widespread protest movements in the Islamic Republic before the events of November 2019. To date, the exact number of victims, wounded, and those detained in these protests has not been determined, and government statistics on this matter differ significantly from estimates by human rights organizations.