Office of Prince Reza Pahlavi Calls for Global Campaign to Save Benjamin Negadi
As executions of protesters in Iran surge, the press office of Prince Reza Pahlavi released a video of Benjamin Negadi, a 26-year-old athlete sentenced to death, and called on the international community to take action to save his life and prevent the execution of this young athlete by pressuring the Islamic Republic.
As concerns mount over escalating executions of protesters and political prisoners in Iran, Prince Reza Pahlavi’s press office on Monday, August 3, corresponding to 12 Mordad, released a video of Benjamin Negadi, a 26-year-old athlete specializing in kickboxing and Muay Thai, warning of the imminent danger of his execution.
In this video, Prince Reza Pahlavi’s press office emphasizes that Benjamin Negadi’s only wish was to “live in a free Iran,” a country where he could speak freely and support his family with dignity. At the same time, the office called on public opinion, athletes, international organizations, and democratic governments to take action to prevent his execution.
In a message posted on the social media platform X alongside the video, human rights advocates were urged to reshare Benjamin Negadi’s story and contact sports federations, renowned athletes, human rights organizations, and democratic governments to create international pressure to save his life before it is too late.
This call was released just two days after Prince Reza Pahlavi’s press office announced the execution of Arvin Kheirkhah, a 20-year-old protester arrested during nationwide demonstrations, and warned of the danger of execution for other detainees.
The statement reported that before his execution, Arvin Kheirkhah said in his final contact with his family: “Do not let me be forgotten. We rose up for the freedom of our homeland. Do not let the path we chose go silent.”
Prince Reza Pahlavi’s press office also named Javad Ajem, Morteza Zamani, Mehdi Ranjbar, Farshid Rahmani, Ali Reza Saghari, and Poya Saghari, announcing that these prisoners also face the threat of execution and calling on the international community to respond to their situation before it is too late.
According to published information, Arvin Kheirkhah was arrested during December protests and was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court months later. Reports also indicate that at least two other protesters, Mehdi Ranjbar, 18, and Morteza Zamani, 27, are also facing execution sentences.
The warning about Benjamin Negadi comes at a time when human rights organizations have repeatedly stated that the Islamic Republic has increased the use of capital punishment against protesters and political prisoners in recent months. According to these organizations, many of these cases have been marked by security charges, forced confessions, restricted access to lawyers, and trials that do not meet fair trial standards.
In recent months, UN special rapporteurs and international human rights organizations have repeatedly warned against the Islamic Republic’s use of capital punishment to instill fear and silence protests, calling on Tehran to halt executions, particularly in cases related to demonstrations.
From the perspective of human rights activists, the request by Prince Reza Pahlavi’s press office for a global campaign is an effort to increase the political cost of carrying out these sentences and draw international public attention to the situation of prisoners facing execution; prisoners who, according to human rights defenders, face the danger of irreversible execution more each day.
