From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 17, 2022
Iran sentences boxing champion to death over protests
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIran has sentenced to death a local boxing champion over his role in 2019 protests, activists say, expressing fear that another athlete risks execution after a wrestler was put to death.
The death sentence issued against Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani comes just over a year after the execution of wrestling champion Navid Afkari in September 2020, which prompted an international outcry and calls for Iran to be barred from sporting events.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO says that Vafaei-Sani, 26, was sentenced to death after being convicted of arson and destruction of government buildings.
He had been detained in February 2020 and one of the charges against him was taking part in protests on November 2019 sparked by a sudden fuel price rise, it says.
The Times of Israel Community.