US State Department: Islamic Republic executes protesting athletes

The US State Department, through its Persian-language account "America in Persian", accused the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, of executing protesting athletes while exploiting the success of champions for state propaganda. In a post on X, the account cited the executions of Saleh Mohammadi and Navid Afkari, two Iranian wrestlers, as an example of this double standard.

The post came after the Islamic Republic's leader praised young Iranian wrestlers competing in the Under-23 World Championships in the United States. The State Department wrote that the government that praises these young people today is the same one that hangs athletes to silence the voice of protest.

Saleh Mohammadi and Navid Afkari

Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old wrestler and bronze medallist at the 2024 Stiff Cup who dreamed of competing at the Olympics, was executed on 19 March 2026 in Qom in a case linked to the uprising of December 2025 and January 2026. Human rights organisations have said his trial was unfair and that the sentence was based on confessions extracted under torture. According to the same organisations, security cameras had not recorded his face at the scene he was accused of being at.

Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old wrestler from Shiraz, was secretly executed in September 2020 after a trial the State Department called a "show trial", with forced confessions. According to the department, his only "crime" was taking part in peaceful protests. His execution provoked a wave of protest from human rights bodies and sports figures around the world.

At least 217 athletes killed in the December–January uprising

The State Department said that during the uprising of December 2025 and January 2026, at least 217 athletes were killed by the forces of repression and more than 100 athletes were arrested. Zohreh Abdollahkhani of the organisation "Human Rights for Sport" cited the same figures in her speech in Oslo. According to the State Department, several detained athletes are still at risk of execution.

The warning comes as the Revolutionary Courts continue to sentence the protesters of the uprising to death, including Homayoun Shabankar, a 22-year-old protester from Karaj, and sentences such as the execution of Majid Nikandish in Mashhad have been carried out.

The State Department ended its post by writing that the Islamic Republic honours elite athletes only as long as they serve state propaganda, and represses them whenever they stand alongside their freedom-loving compatriots.

According to the US State Department, at least 217 athletes were killed in the December–January uprising and more than 100 were arrested.