Iran executes champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi amidst protests
Iran executed 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi on Thursday, alongside two other men arrested during anti-government demonstrations earlier this year, reports BritPanorama.
Mohammadi, a promising freestyle competitor from Qom, was executed alongside Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davodi, according to Iranian state media and human rights organisations.
The three were arrested after allegedly participating in nationwide protests that erupted across Iran in late December 2025 and January 2026.
Human rights groups have condemned the judicial proceedings as fundamentally unfair, citing claims that confessions were extracted through torture and that the defendants were denied adequate legal representation.
Iranian authorities convicted Mohammadi of premeditated murder related to the death of a police officer from the Faraja Special Unit during clashes in Qom’s Nabovvat Square on January 8. Prosecutors alleged the wrestler was involved in an attack that led the officer, Mohammad Ghasemi Homapour, to crash his motorcycle, resulting in his death.
The Qom Criminal Court issued the death sentence in early February under the Islamic principle of qisas, or retribution-in-kind, a ruling subsequently upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court. Mohammadi had previously represented Iran at the international level, earning a bronze medal at the Saytiev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in September 2024.
Nima Far, a human rights activist and Iranian combat athlete, described the execution as “a blatant political murder,” asserting it reflects the Islamic Republic’s pattern of targeting athletes to suppress dissent and intimidate society. Rights organisations such as Amnesty International have identified significant due process violations throughout the case.
Reports indicate that conflicting evidence, including alibi support and witness testimonies, was dismissed during the trial, and the court accepted confessions allegedly obtained under duress. An estimated 53,000 individuals were detained during the regime’s crackdown on the protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
In reaction to the execution, the US State Department had previously urged Iran to stop, expressing concerns that “the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is massacring young people and destroying Iran’s future.”
Mohammadi’s case has drawn parallels with that of fellow wrestler Navid Afkari, who was also executed in 2020 for allegedly killing a police officer during protests years earlier. Far advocates for international sporting bodies to take robust actions against Iran, suggesting that the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling should impose sanctions rather than relying on quiet diplomacy.
“Iran must be banned from international competitions until it halts executions of protesters and athletes,” Far stated.
As the world watches, the intersection of sport and politics shines a harsh light on the perilous environment faced by athletes in Iran, a reminder of how easily brilliance can become politics’ pawn.
