{"id":226312,"date":"2020-09-18T13:19:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T12:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=226312"},"modified":"2023-02-01T05:45:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:45:26","slug":"in-summoning-german-ambs-tehran-reiterates-expectation-of-impunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/blog\/op-ed\/in-summoning-german-ambs-tehran-reiterates-expectation-of-impunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran: In Summoning German Ambassador, Tehran Reiterates Its Expectation of Impunity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"German
German Embassy in Tehran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By: Alejo Vidal-Quadras<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Monday, September 14, 2020, Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador in<\/a> order to protest a simple statement the embassy had shared via Twitter condemning the execution of a popular champion wrestler whose case had garnered international headlines. Navid Afkari<\/a> was hanged on Saturday just a few weeks after Iran\u2019s highest court upheld his dual death sentences.<\/p>\n

Afkari was accused of fatally stabbing a security guard during an anti-government protest in August 2018, but there was allegedly no physical evidence to support the charge, and critics of the Iranian regime believe that the real purpose of his execution was to discourage other citizens from participating in public demonstrations in the wake of widespread popular unrest.<\/p>\n

As has been the case with hundreds of political prisoners over the past decade, Afkari\u2019s execution<\/a> was apparently justified by little other than a false confession extracted through torture. A week before the death sentence was carried out, state media aired an 11-minute segment on the case which included this forced confession. Many who viewed it commented on its similarity to countless other propaganda broadcasts that state media had prepared over the years.<\/p>\n

In light of these observations, German diplomats were certainly not breaking any new ground when they claimed to be \u201cdeeply surprised\u201d at Afkari\u2019s high-profile execution and cited it as the latest evidence of ongoing Iranian efforts to \u201csilence opposing views\u201d. Tehran\u2019s reaction essentially proves that point correct and even opens Tehran to broader criticism. After all, by characterizing the embassy\u2019s tweet as unacceptable \u201cintervention\u201d into Iranian affairs, the Foreign Ministry appears to be trying to silence opposing views not only domestically but also beyond its borders.<\/p>\n

\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This should come as little surprise to anyone who has been paying close attention to the regime\u2019s conduct in recent years. In 2018, just two months before Afkari was initially arrested, European authorities<\/a> uncovered an Iranian terror plot that would have involved detonating an explosive device in the heart of Europe, at an international rally of Iranian expatriates and their political supporters. The plot had actually been put into motion when two Iranian operatives were arrested trying to cross the border from Belgium into France, en route to a convention space just outside Paris.<\/p>\n

The attempted attack<\/a> on the \u201cIran Freedom\u201d rally says a great deal about the regime\u2019s interest in silencing any high-profile criticism, in any venue, from any source. It also clearly highlights the hypocrisy that is on display when the regime summons foreign diplomats or arrests Western nationals over public statements that disparage the theocratic system or its destructive policies.<\/p>\n

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September 17\u2014Near Shiraz, south-central #Iran<\/a>
More than 800 family members and friends of #NavidAfkari<\/a> gathered at his grave to hold a commemorating ceremony. pic.twitter.com\/gARvRoRgNJ<\/a><\/p>\n

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n