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.
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.
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“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.
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“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.
Image: 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.
Image: 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.
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.
“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.”
Image: 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.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.