Iran has executed a 27-year-old wrestler accused of murder after he took part in antigovernment protests two years ago, the state news media reported on Saturday. The wrestler, Navid Afkari, was executed on Saturday morning at a prison in the southern city of Shiraz, judicial officials were quoted as telling state media. He was accused of fatally stabbing a water-utility worker amid the unrest in his home city, Shiraz, which was a center of antigovernment protests that swept the country in 2018. The charges against him were met with widespread skepticism in Iran and abroad, with many government critics saying he was being used as an example to silence dissent. Image Navid AfkariIn an audiotape smuggled from prison, Mr. Afkari said he had been tortured until he falsely confessed to the crime.

Source: International New York Times September 12, 2020 09:59 UTC