Family of murdered Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari beaten and arrested

Iran’s regime on Saturday intensified its persecution of the family of the murdered champion wrestler, Navid Afkari, whose family members faced brutal beatings and arrests in the city of Shiraz for their protest against the reported wrongful imprisonment of Navid’s brothers, Vahid and Habib.

Navid’s brother, Saeed, tweeted “Two female officers beat my mother so that her head was hit on the asphalt. 20 people beat Navid, 5 people [beat] Elham and 2 people [beat] my mother, who is a 55-year-old woman. You give meaning to the word filth, you cowards.”

The clerical regime executed the champion Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari in September, 2020 for his role in 2018 protests against the worsening economic situation in the Islamic Republic.
Saeed wrote that “Today…my family and some of the relatives gathered in front of Adelabad Prison to protest against my brothers' 280 days in solitary confinement. Plainclothes officers severely beat my mother, my sister, my father, my aunts and others. They confiscated the cell phones, arrested my sister and one of the women and released them an hour later.”

Vahid and Habib participated in demonstrations against Iranian regime political and economic corruption in 2018. For their peaceful protests, Iran sentenced Vahid to 54 years and six months imprisonment and Habib to 27 years and three months, as well as 74 lashes each. Both brothers have endured torture and isolation in prison.

Saeed said on Twitter about the Saturday attack on his family: “My father protected Elham. Some officers took my father away and five female officers in chador jumped on Elham and handcuffed her and dragged her to the ground and took her into the van. Elham's neck and hands are injured. My mother and my aunts were also severely beaten.”

Last week, Elham urged her followers on Instagram to boycott the Islamic Republic of Iran’s presidential election and wrote that Navid refused to vote in 2013. Many Iranians outside and inside the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a campaign to boycott the slated June 18 election because it is undemocratic and the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei selected the candidates.

Sheina Vojoudi, an Iranian dissident who fled the Islamic Republic of Iran due to repression, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday: “ The regime cowardly murdered Navid to remove his name from the history but he became a hero whose name will never die. The whole world must support and protect Navid's family and save his brothers. Vahid and Habib are innocent but they're still in prison and under torture.”

She added that the Afkaris’ situation strongly testifies to the tyranny and cruelty of the Islamic Republic in Iran. Navid was murdered in silent, in the middle of the night. From the president of the most powerful country to the brave athletes all around the world became his voice and that's exactly what scared the regime to death. Whoever fights for the humanity, should also fight for Navid's innocent family.”