Iran Sentences Dissident Boxer to Death

An Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, Iran has sentenced boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei to death by hanging for supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, “inciting and destroying certain places, including the state penitentiary building,” and “spreading corruption on earth.” Human rights activists say the boxer is innocent of the charges, which are frequently leveled against dissidents who criticize government policies and corruption. Vafaei reportedly joined in the November 2019 mass protests against fuel price increases in the Islamic Republic. Journalist and women’s rights campaigner Masih Alinejad tweeted on Saturday: “Death sentence for another athlete in Iran for the crime of protesting in Nov 2019. Mohammad Javad, 26, is a boxing champion. They sentenced him to death for ‘spreading corruption on Earth’. We couldn’t save Navid Afkari Iranian wrestler. Global athletes may help us this time.” Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari was hanged in 2020 for protesting economic and political mismanagement in 2018. Another prominent athlete, boxer and coach Ali Mutairi, was executed in Sheiban prison in January 2021 amid allegations that he was severely tortured and forced to confess to killing two government-backed Basij militia members in 2018.