{"id":254731,"date":"2022-01-23T15:19:31","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T20:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=254731"},"modified":"2023-02-03T08:47:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T07:47:11","slug":"iran-the-killing-field-for-athletes-and-national-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/iran-the-killing-field-for-athletes-and-national-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran: The Killing Field for Athletes and National Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Iran-champions\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-254739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions.jpg\" alt=\"Iran-champions\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Iran-champions-696x418.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In other countries around the world, athletes are considered national treasures. But the regime ruling Iran mistreats, arrests, and executes Iranian athletes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">On January 9, the Iranian regime sentenced political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a boxing champion from Mashhad to death after two years of imprisonment and torture. Vafaie was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/ncri-statements\/statement-human-rights\/iran-political-prisoner-mohammad-javad-vafaei-sentenced-to-death-international-call-to-save-his-life\/\">arrested<\/a> following the major uprisings in 2019 in Iran and sentenced to death on the charges of supporting \u00a0Iran\u2019s leading opposition group, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.mojahedin.org\/i\/primer-the-history-the-peoples-mojahedin-organization-iran\" rel=\"noopener\">Mujahedin-e Khalq<\/a> (MEK), and \u201ccorruption on earth,\u201d a bogus allegation by the ruling theocracy to justify its hangings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">But Vafaie is not the first detained athlete-protester facing execution. On September 12, 2020, The Iranian regime hanged Iran\u2019s wrestling champion Navid Afkari, despite international outcries to stop his execution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Another wrestling champion, Mohsen Ghasemi, died after nearly two years in a coma. Ghasemi won a gold medal in Asian wrestling in 2011 in 74 kg classification. The regime\u2019s thugs savagely beat him at a rehabilitation camp in Bojnourd.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 261px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Javad-Vafaei-e1641757595575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Javad-Vafaei-e1641757595575.png\" alt=\"Javad-Vafaei-e1641757595575\" width=\"261\" height=\"295\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Ellis Coleman (USA) dec. Mohsen Ghasemi (IRI) 2nd repechage at 66 kg Greco-Roman at Junior Worlds\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_6Cd4Nqbv6yk\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F6Cd4Nqbv6yk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6Cd4Nqbv6yk\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT12M2S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2010-07-21T19:12:05Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_6Cd4Nqbv6yk\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F6Cd4Nqbv6yk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Ellis Coleman (USA) dec. Mohsen Ghasemi (IRI) 2nd repechage at 66 kg Greco-Roman at Junior Worlds<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6Cd4Nqbv6yk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F6Cd4Nqbv6yk%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Ellis Coleman (USA) dec. Mohsen Ghasemi (IRI) 2nd repechage at 66 kg Greco-Roman at Junior Worlds\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Ellis Coleman (USA) dec. Mohsen Jahangir Ghasemi (Iran), 1-2, 1-0, 5-0 in the second repechage match at 66 kg in Greco-Roman at the 2010 Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In another case, Zahedan Criminal Court sentenced <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tasnimnews.com\/en\/news\/2017\/05\/22\/1416758\/islamic-solidarity-games-iranian-wushu-fighters-win-six-gold-medals\" rel=\"noopener\">Yazdan Mirzaei<\/a>, a gold-medalist wushu fighter, \u00a0\u00a0to death on drug-related charges. He has vehemently denied these bogus charges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Since coming to power, the medieval theocracy has demonstrated no scruples in executing anyone deemed a threat to its survival, and athletes are no exception. In 1988, the regime massacred 30,000 political prisoners, 90 percent of them affiliated with the MEK. Several victims, \u00a0including Foroozan Abdi, a member of the Iranian women\u2019s national volleyball team, and Mahshid Razaghi, a member of Iran\u2019s national soccer team, were among them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In 1982, the Iranian regime executed Habib Khabiri, the beloved captain of Iran\u2019s national soccer team during the World Cup in Argentina, who was a role model for many Iranian youths. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalinterest.org\/feature\/flags-we-fly-why-iranian-athletics-have-chosen-values-over-success-198781\" rel=\"noopener\">Khabiri had refused<\/a> to denounce the MEK.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Before his execution, Navid Akari said that the mullahs were \u201clooking for a neck for their rope,\u201d shedding light on the regime\u2019s need to terrorize Iran\u2019s increasingly restive society.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Oppressing and mistreating athletes is not limited to torture and executions. Due to the regime\u2019s institutionalized corruption, ineptitude, and mismanagement, many Iranian national heroes are forced to become street vendors to make a meager living.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In November 2021, Iran\u2019s state media published the story of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/irannewsupdate.com\/news\/society\/iran-governments-annihilation-massoud-rastegar-judo-champion-works-as-street-vendor\/\" rel=\"noopener\">hard life of Masoud Rastegar<\/a>. Rastegar,\u00a0 a deaf judoka in the country\u2019s national team who had won the bronze medal in the Paralympics competitions in 2017 in Turkey, collects garbage to help his family.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\u201cWhen we go to the sports office and say give us a handful of training clothes, they keep saying we don\u2019t have any,\u201d he told the state-run Aparat online TV. \u201cAt the time of the championship, the same officials greeted me and put up a banner and took a photo under it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Another wrestling champion, Mohsen Madhani, was beaten by the regime\u2019s forces for street vending.\u00a0 \u201cAn athlete and a world champion don\u2019t deserve to be a street vendor,\u201d he said in a video posted on social media in November 2020.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Mohsen Madhani, world championship medalist in wrestling works as a street peddler to earn a living. Various social classes have been forced to enter this line of work in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> due to extreme poverty. <br \/>Over 60 million of the population of 84 million live in poverty. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/i0jm16b01d\">pic.twitter.com\/i0jm16b01d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IranHrm\/status\/1330597148757471234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Iranian athletes are forced to turn to street peddling while the country sits on an ocean of oil and gas. As a result, many have left Iran and are now competing under other flags.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">For Iran\u2019s ruling theocracy loyalty to the regime is the only criteria for success. When Iranian athletes refuse to sell their honor and dignity, they are prosecuted, forced to live in poverty, or flee their homeland.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">By refusing to bow to Iran\u2019s murderous regime, the Iranian athletes have earned a special place in people\u2019s hearts and minds.\u00a0 A trophy carries dust, but memories last forever.\u00a0 This is the story of Iranian athletes who have chosen to be people\u2019s champions rather than the regime\u2019s puppets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In other countries around the world, athletes are considered national treasures. But the regime ruling Iran mistreats, arrests, and executes Iranian athletes. On January 9, the Iranian regime sentenced political [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":254739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,45,75,15],"tags":[129,141,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-254731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-resistance","8":"category-news","9":"category-stop-executions-in-iran","10":"category-human-rights","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-human-rights","13":"tag-mek-iran"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iran: The Killing Field for Athletes and National Heroes - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In other countries around the world, athletes are considered national treasures. 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