{"id":31678,"date":"2022-01-24T14:50:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T13:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=31678"},"modified":"2022-06-21T20:20:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T18:20:11","slug":"iranian-top-athletes-should-be-revered-not-persecuted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/articles\/2022\/01\/iranian-top-athletes-should-be-revered-not-persecuted\/31678\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranian Top Athletes Should Be Revered, Not Persecuted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Pictures
Pictures of some Iranian athletes who were executed or killed by the mullah regime in Iran.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around the world, top athletes are often considered national treasures in their respective countries and adored by thousands of people. For Iranian athletes, this is a different story. The Iranian regime have often mistreated <\/a>Iranian athletes, with many being arrested and tortured, or even executed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, on January 9, boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani was sentenced to death following two years of imprisonment and torture. Vafaei, who hails from Mashhad, was arrested in 2019, following the major uprisings that year, and was imprisoned on the charges of supporting the Iranian opposition group, the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a> (NCRI) said<\/a>, \u201cBut Vafaie is not the first detained athlete-protester facing execution. On September 12, 2021, The Iranian regime hanged Iran\u2019s wrestling champion Navid Afkari<\/a>, despite international outcries to stop his execution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohsen Ghasemi, another wrestling champion, was brutally beaten at a rehabilitation camp in Bojnourd, and spent almost two years in a coma before he passed away. Ghasemi was best known for winning a gold medal in an Asian wrestling competition back in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n