Father of Executed Iranian Wrestler Jailed with Criminals

Iranian authorities have transferred the father of a protester executed in 2020 to the criminals' ward of Qazvin prison in the country’s north-west, IranWire has learned.

Hossein Afkari was arrested on May 2, with the judicial or security institutions giving no reason for the move. 

Political prisoners in Iran are often placed in wards with criminals and drug offenders, exposing them to danger and pressure. There have been numerous reports of deaths of political prisoners in such settings.

Afkari’s son Navid, a wrestler, was executed in September 2020 after being sentenced to death over the alleged killing of a security officer during a protest in 2008. 

Navid’s two brothers Vahid and Habib were arrested with him and sentenced to long prison terms and lashes.

After Navid’s execution, the family continued to face intense pressure from the authorities, drawing international condemnations.

Navid’s sister Elham was arrested in the central city of Shiraz in November last year and sentenced to five years in prison the following month.