Iran executes wrestler Navid Afkari whose case drew international attention
- Navid Afkari was convicted of killing a water department worker during anti-government protests in August 2018
- US President Trump had urged Iran this month not to execute the 27-year-old
Navid Afkari was executed in the morning at a prison in the southern city of Shiraz, provincial prosecutor general Kazem Mousavi was quoted as saying on state television’s website.
The 27-year-old had been found guilty of “voluntary homicide” for stabbing to death Hossein Torkman, a water department worker, on August 2, 2018, according to the judiciary.
Shiraz and several other urban centres across the Islamic republic had been the scene that day of anti-government protests and demonstrations over economic and social hardship.
Reports published abroad say Afkari was condemned on the basis of confessions extracted under torture, prompting online campaigns of support for his release.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency denied the accusations.