The Iranian sports stars being arrested, jailed and executed as anti-government protests continue
Iranian sports stars have been arrested, sentenced to death and executed as authorities continue to brutally clamp down on protests.
Human rights organisations say the regime is trying to “make an example” of athletes, some of whom have taken part in demonstrations or shown solidarity through acts of defiance abroad.
The recent execution of karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karami and 16 years in prison for footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani are just two of the latest punishments handed out to sporting figures.
Protests have rocked Iran for several months following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police.
Ms Amini, who was 22, is being held up as a symbol and rallying cry for change, while the regime’s heavy-handed response has seen the deaths of at least 519 protesters, according to the activist HRANA news agency.
Nina Navid, Amnesty International UK’s Iran campaigner, said the regime’s crackdown via sport “isn’t surprising”.
She told Sky News: “It was always likely that the Iranian authorities would try to make an example of prominent sporting figures supporting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, and that seems to be exactly what’s happening.
“At the World Cup, Iranian fans who expressed support for protesters back in Iran were intimidated by pro-government fans, very likely with official backing, while family members of the national team were reportedly warned they faced arrest and torture if the players dared to repeat their boycott of the national anthem after the first game against England.”
According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an NGO based in the US, some 36 athletes have been arrested amid the demonstrations over the past several months.
“While some have directly participated in street protests, others have shown solidarity through acts of defiance abroad,” Skylar Thompson, head of global advocacy for HRA, told Sky News.
“Top athletes have the power through a global voice to bring the world together around a common cause and, if used deliberately and intentionally, that power can move mountains.”
Mohammad Mehdi Karami
A former national karate champion, he was reportedly accused of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary during a protest in Karaj, near Tehran.
The Basij have been working to suppress the protests, attacking and detaining demonstrators.
Human rights group Amnesty International said his trial “bore no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding”.
He was executed on Saturday.
Mohammad Mehdi Karami was executed in January 2022
Amir Nasr-Azadani
Iranian premier league footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani was sentenced to 16 years in prison for taking part in the nationwide protests, local media reported.
The 26-year-old was found guilty of “partaking in enmity against God” in relation to the killing of three security officers in the city of Isfahan on 16 November, according to Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Local news reports suggested his confession was coerced, with members of his family ordered to stay silent.
Footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani
Sahand Nour-Mohammadzadeh
A 26-year-old bodybuilder, Sahand Nour-Mohammadzadeh has been sentenced to death on the charge of “waging war” for alleged acts of arson and destruction of public property after being arrested in October.
According to the Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Mr Nour-Mohammadzadeh said in an audio file released after his detention that he was told he was going to be executed the moment he was arrested, and that the only evidence presented in his trial was a video showing him moving the guardrail in a street during a protest.
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Marjan Jangjou
Rock climber Marjan Jangjou has been missing since she was arrested in her home in November for her alleged participation in street protests, it has been reported.
“Some of Marjan’s friends have been looking for her in places she frequented as well as in cemeteries in Shiraz to check unmarked graves hoping to find traces of her,” a source told CHRI.
Sara Khadem
Iranian chess player Sara Khadem took part in a tournament in the Kazakh city of Almaty last week and was pictured without a head covering, which is mandatory in Iran.
She was warned not to return home, according to a source close to her, and has since arrived in Spain.
Newspapers including Spain’s El Pais reported last week that Ms Khadem was planning to relocate to the country.
Sara Khadem flew to Spain after appearing at a chess tournament without a hijab
Elnaz Rekabi
Climber Elnaz Rekabi received attention in the early days of the Mahsa Amini protests after competing without a hijab at an event in South Korea.
After receiving a hero’s welcome on her return to Iran, she told a state TV reporter that it was “completely unintentional”.
“I was unexpectedly called and I had to compete. I was busy putting on my shoes and technical gear and that caused me to forget putting on the hijab I had to be wearing. Then I went to compete.”
Asked about rumours that no one knew her whereabouts for between 24 and 48 hours, Ms Rekabi replied: “No. This didn’t happen. We came back to Iran according to the plan. Until this moment everything has been going on according to the plan.”
Climber Elnaz Rekabi
Ali Daei
Iran’s all-time leading international goalscorer Ali Daei has been among those criticising the regime’s crackdown on demonstrators.
The former footballer said his wife and daughter were questioned by officials after a flight they were on was diverted.
On social media, Mr Daei had urged the government to “solve the problems of the Iranian people rather than using repression, violence and arrests”.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security
Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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