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.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
Read more:
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
Shouts of ‘genocide’ in Commons
Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter
Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
Read more:
Why Trump will worry about attacker being glorified
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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’
During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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