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.
Read more:
Iranian actress freed after showing support for executed protester
Seven British-linked people arrested over protests in Iran
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”.
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.
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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.
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