Rights groups around the world have sounded the siren at the news that Iran’s regime plans to execute a second champion wrestler imminently.
Mehdi Ali Hosseini, 29, was arrested by the Iranian regime in 2015 on pre-meditated murder charges and is set to be executed without a fair trial.
The announcement to put Hosseini to death is “a desperate attempt to maintain power,” according to the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI).
“The Islamic Republic’s decision shows once again that it is an anti-Iranian, occupying regime,” NUFDI said in a statement to The Foreign Desk.
It is speculated that Hosseini’s confession may have been garnered through torture as was the case for champion wrestler Navid Afkari in September 2020, who was executed for opposition to the Iranian regime.
"There is no evidence or proof to support these charges," Iranian Americans for Liberty said in a statement. "This is why we are urging the Iranian Government to provide Mr. Hosseini with the due process he deserves."
The International Olympic Committee was “shocked” when the Iran regime murdered Afkari, but has yet to suspend the Iranian National Olympic Committee from competing in the Olympics.
“Those who claim to stand for human rights must stand against Mr. Hosseini’s execution and must stand with the Iranian people against the Islamic Republic and their struggle for a secular economy,” said NUFDI.
Iran regularly executes its citizens with no fair trial and “has weaponized the cruel and inhuman use of the death penalty as a tool of repression,” according to Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch Tara Sepehri Far.
“Fair trial and due process are essential for defendants in all cases, but in death penalty cases their absence renders any proceedings a travesty of justice.”
