Amir Nasr-Azadani: Teammate of Iranian footballer facing death penalty speaks out
A former teammate of Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, who faces the death penalty for participating in nationwide protests, has told Sky News that his friend is a “shy person” and “really kind”.
Speaking from Finland where he now captains top flight side VPS Vaasa, Sebastian Strandvall said: “Amir was one of the young guys on our team at the time, he was 19-20 years old at the time, quite the shy person and really kind… a normal, good guy.”
Nasr-Azadani, 26, was arrested last month as anti-regime demonstrations sweep across Iran. He was convicted of murdering a policeman and two militia members in a trial that human rights groups have called a sham.
Amir Nasr-Azadani
Local news reports suggest his confession was coerced with members of his family ordered to stay silent.
His former teammate says the court ruling, which found Nasr-Azadani guilty of “waging war against God” was absurd. Execution is one of a number of possible consequences for this crime.
“Knowing Amir’s character, he would go to a protest… he and his friends, would stand up for basic rights, for women’s rights of course because he is the sort of the person who cares about others. But I don’t see him doing a war on God or anything,” Strandvall said.
The two played alongside one another at Rah-Ahan FC in Tehran during the 2015-16 season, and Strandvall even offered him a place to stay when the young Iranian found himself without accommodation.
‘It feels so far from reality’
The Finnish player says his friend may have participated in the demonstrations but does not believe he would commit a violent act.
“It is hard to describe the feeling, the shock, it is hard to fathom that it is actually him because it feels so far from reality, that someone might be facing the death sentence for participating in a peaceful protest,” he said.
Sebastian Strandvall (centre) and Amir Nasr-Azadani training
Little is known about Nasr-Azadani’s condition, but one German MP is campaigning to raise people’s awareness of his plight.
Andreas Larem, who took over the sponsorship for Nasr-Azadani on 15 December, told Sky News he has written to the Iranian ambassador to Germany in Berlin and has asked the German Foreign Ministry for immediate help to get Nasr-Azadani released.
“He should have still some hope, he should know that we stand with him, and that we really force on every side where we can to get him out, and his friends being also in the prison get out of that situation, and I would like to see him and to meet him in Germany.”
Protests are ‘nationwide phenomenon’
As the clerics who run Iran are challenged in the streets, their forces have become increasing violent as they seek to preserve the regime.
The protests in Iran, which take place on a daily basis, have entered their fourth consecutive month and show little sign of weakening. The majority may centre on the Kurdish region of Iran and the capital Tehran, but they are a nationwide phenomenon.
Fuelled by a range of grievances, including the stifling restrictions placed on women’s dress, participants seek the removal of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with the ageing mullahs who support him.
In response, police units and the revolutionary guards (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) have lashed out at those who defy the state.
Demonstrators have been beaten and targeted with shotguns – and in recent days, the government has begun to execute protesters.
Trials are a ‘sham’
Last week, Majidreza Rahnavard, who was thought to be 23 years old, was publicly hanged from the end of a construction crane. Rahnavard was accused of “waging war on God” after allegedly stabbing two members of the pro-government militia to death.
Human rights groups and western governments called the trial a sham.
According to Amnesty International, there are more than two dozen protesters facing the death sentence.
As the police struggle to contain this youthful rebellion, analysts accuse the regime of targeting personalities, like footballers, actors and writers – anyone with the power to influence others.
Actress Taraneh Alidoosti
Iran’s most celebrated actress, Taraneh Alidoosti, was arrested last week after she condemned the state’s use of the death penalty against protesters.
The 38-year-old is best known for her 2016 role in the Oscar-winning film The Salesman.
Despite her international profile, she has vowed not to leave Iran.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway