The internet is ablaze with efforts to free an Iranian soccer player who has been sentenced to death. The online petition to stay his execution has reached almost two million signatures as of Monday, December 26.
Amir Nasr-Azadani was arrested for protesting women’s rights and the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran.
The Iranian police arrested 26-year-old Nasr-Azadani in November and accused him of the murders of security personnel, a police colonel, and two militia members. Authorities also accused Nasr-Azadani of what they described as “waging war against God.”
People all over the world are showing their support for the popular soccer player. During the World Cup final between Argentina and France, famous singer Shakira used her social media account to draw attention to Amir Nasr-Azadani’s death sentence.
The young soccer player is among 27 other Iranian citizens sentenced to hang for participating in the protests that have fractured the country for several months. The first executions by Iran were conducted this month. Three of the hanged individuals were young men, and two of them, Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, were only 23 years old.
Like many people worldwide who learned about the death sentence, the International Federation of Footballers (FIFPRO) expressed their shock and disbelief at the harsh punishment.
The FIFPRO tweeted that they were shocked and sickened that Nasr-Azadani received the death sentence because he campaigned for the rights and basic freedoms of women in his country.
Other popular soccer players also demanded the executions end, including former Iranian star Ali Karimi and the goalkeeper for Iran’s World Cup team, Alireza Beiranvand. They used their social media accounts to call for the Iranian government to revoke the sentence and end the executions.
The Chief Justice of Isfahan, Asadollah Jafari, said that Nasr-Azadani belonged to an armed group that operated in an organized manner and whose intention was to fight the basis of Iran, which is an Islamic republic.
Protests all over Iran erupted in September after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody. The country’s “morality police” detained her for allegedly not tying her hijab properly. Witnesses who saw her getting arrested said that the officers beat her up, but the government said she died due to a heart attack.
The protests over the brutal way police treat the protesters have lasted over three months. Almost 500 protesters, including over 60 children and over 60 security personnel, have been killed in the protests. More than 18,000 people have been arrested and detained by the Iranian security forces.
