Mehdi Ali Hosseini Latest Athlete Executed By Iran Government
Irani wrestler, Mehdi Ali Hosseini, has been hung by the Iranian government for an alleged pre-meditated murder in 2015 during a gang fight. We reported on the sentence two weeks ago. The killing is the most recent in a string of executions and silencing of athletes from Iran.
While the crime committed by Hosseini and circumstances surrounding the sentence is much different from that of Navid Afkari, many Irani nationals have cried out for the regime’s liberal use of the death penalty when they see fit.
Sardar Pashaei, a World Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling for Iran, sent out a tweet saying, “Mehdi Ali Hosseini, a young wrestler from Andimeshk, was executed, Here is Iran, Land of death, rope and bullets.”
The system in Iran is ever-shrouded in mystery. The process for convictions is never clear and often misused, like in the case of Navid Afkari. While critics of the Irani government have admitted that Mehdi Ali Hosseini could very well have committed the murder, they remain skeptical over the situation and process that could affect someone innocent.
Amnesty International’s Mansoureh Mills told the Jerusalem Post that “We understand that Mehdi Ali Hosseini had been convicted of murder but have no other information about his case, including his trial. However, Amnesty International has documented the systematic violation of fair trial rights of defendants in Iran. Executions are often carried out after unfair trials. Some detainees are denied access to a lawyer at the investigation stage and forced ‘confessions’ obtained under torture and other ill-treatment without a lawyer present are consistently used as evidence by courts to issue convictions.”
All the Iran people want is to be able to trust a system that will give them the right of a fair trial and not have to face death just because the government wants the accused dead.
Again to the Jerusalem Post, the IOC and United World Wrestling have remained mum on Iran actions to their athletes, even after outcries from the public around the world. “The case of Mehdi Ali Hosseini, a regional wrestler from Iran, is tragic. We were informed that this was a criminal case only, with no sports-related background. Mr. Hosseini was convicted of having been involved in a robbery that ended with the death of a final-year medical student who was living in the house that Mr. Hosseini and his accomplice had entered. Mr. Hosseini was arrested in 2015. Based on this information, this tragic case is outside the UWW’s or IOC’s remit,” said UWW spokesman Gordon Templeman.
Mehdi Ali Hosseini and the Silencing of Athletes in Iran
Mehdi Ali Hosseini is a different case than that of which My MMA News has covered in the past. Navid Afkari, who has been mentioned earlier in the post, was forced to confess to a crime he did not commit. He was sentenced to death and UFC president Dana White and then-US President, Donald Trump, called for mercy to Iran’s regime. Afkari did not receive said mercy and was executed five months ago.
Reza Tabrizi is a paralympian who was arrested by the Iran government for questioning why gyms were closed in the COVID-19 pandemic and not worship shrines, something that is prosecuted in the Islam state.
My MMA News is working on more stories of Iran’s liberal use of the death penality, focusing on the silencing of it’s athletes that represent the country. Read up on more of the atrocities below:
- Navid Afkari Sentenced to Two Death Sentences for Fake Crimes, White/Trump Step In
- Navid Afkari Executed this Morning by Iranian Government
- Paralympian Reza Tabrizi Faces Death Penalty For Alleged Crimes in Iran
- Reza Tabrizi Instagram Account Seized By Iranian Government, Screenshots From His Now-Private Profile
- Iranian Wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini Sentenced To Death In Iran
