First Anniversary of Navid Afkari’s Execution Underlines the Need to Prosecute Iranian Officials

protester sentenced to death
In a letter from prison, wrestling champion Navid Afkari wrote that he was forced to endure significant torture for around 50 days

protester sentenced to death

The first anniversary of Iran’s wrestling champion Navid Afkari’s execution was September 12. Nonetheless, on September 20, the world community will allow Ebrahim Raisi, a major human rights criminal, to speak at the United Nations General Assembly.

Navid Afkari and his two brothers

Navid Afkari and his two brothers were arrested in Kazeroun during the massive Iran demonstrations of 2018.

Navid was wrongly accused of assassinating a security guard based on a confession obtained through torture over the course of a month.

Navid had denied killing the security man and had filed an appeal with the court.

(PMOI / MEK Iran) and (NCRI): Navid Afkari and his two brothers were arrested in Kazeroun during the massive Iran demonstrations of 2018.

Navid was executed without due process

Nonetheless, the appeal was turned down by Ebrahim Raisi, the then-Judicial Chief. Navid was executed without due process and despite international protests against his death.

According to his counsel, the regime’s Supreme Court denied political prisoner Vahid Afkari’s appeal for a retrial. Despite the case’s discrepancies, the Afkari brothers’ lawyer, Saeid Dehghan, wrote on Twitter that the Supreme Court’s 38th branch had denied their appeal for a retrial.

Afkari
(PMOI / MEK Iran) and (NCRI): Stevenson: “Iran’s theocratic regime has added stupidity to its long list of deficiencies. Guilty of repression, corruption, terrorism, genocide, and gross incompetence, the mullahs have nevertheless succeeded in sinking even lower in the eyes of the international community by executing Afkari.”

The verdict contains 24 contradictions and three lies

Dehghan wrote, “Even if they just skimmed through the case document, there were enough legal reasons to accept a retrial because the verdict contains 24 contradictions and three lies.”

The regime’s modus operandi has included mistreating political detainees, assassinating them in secret, and breaking international laws. Raisi, who is currently the regime’s president, is notorious for following the regime’s policy when it comes to dealing with political detainees.

Navid Afkari
(PMOI / MEK Iran) and (NCRI): Navid Afkari, National wrestling champion, was sentenced to death for taking part in a peaceful demonstration in August 2018

Raisi handled numerous death sentences

In the 1980s, he began his career as a prosecutor for the regime, where he handled numerous death sentences.

Raisi’s crime peaked in the summer of 1988 when he took part in the slaughter of political detainees in Tehran as a member of the so-called “death commission.”

Raisi’s terrible human rights record helped him become the Supreme Leader’s preferred presidential candidate.

(NCRI) and (PMOI / MEK Iran): Ebrahim Raisi, a mass murderer of MEK activists and political prisoners appointed as head of the Iranian regime’s Judiciary.

Amnesty International

“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said when Raisi was chosen as the regime’s new president on June 19.

1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran
(NCRI) and (PMOI / MEK Iran): It has taken since 1988 for an organization like Amnesty International to even consider the ‘’ongoing crimes against humanity.’’ This only happened because of the brave activism of MEK members and especially Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The supremacy of “impunity” has disastrous consequences

In Iran, the supremacy of “impunity” has disastrous consequences for the country’s overall human rights status. Seven UN human rights experts, including Ms. Callamard, said in December that the impunity stemmed from the international community’s passivity in the aftermath of the 1988 massacre.

They stated that the international community’s inability to act had a “devastating impact” on Iran’s overall human rights status.

UN Pushes Iranian Regime
(NCRI) and (PMOI / MEK Iran): The UN experts expressed: “We are concerned that the situation may amount to crimes against humanity.” They stated that if Iran continues “to refuse to uphold its obligations”.

The killing of Iranian demonstrators

The killing of Iranian demonstrators in November 2019, the subsequent abuse of arrested protesters, and the execution of Navid and other political prisoners are current examples of the catastrophic impact of the international community’s silence and Iran’s impunity dilemma.

If the international community had exerted pressure on the religious dictatorship, criminals like Raisi would not have been able to rise to positions of power, and many families, including Afkari’s, would not have been torn apart.

(NCRI) and (PMOI / MEK Iran): The mullahs and their armed thugs are absolutely terrified of another huge uprising similar to the one that erupted across Iran last November.

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