Five years on, a wrestler's execution still haunts Iran—and demands action

Members of the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union), joined by associate members Australia and New Zealand, issued a joint statement Friday condemning what they described as Iran’s growing campaign of transnational repression.

The statement cited recent declarations by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, which detailed what they called increased attempts by Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass political opponents overseas.

The attempts, the G7 said, follow "a disturbing and unacceptable pattern of transnational repression, and clearly undermine state sovereignty."

Last month, UN human rights experts condemned what they called Iran’s intensifying campaign of repression against journalists working for Iran International and the intimidation of their families, particularly after the 12-day war with Israel.

"Reports suggest that journalists have been followed, had tracking tags attached to their cars, and their cars repeatedly broken into. Women journalists have faced threats of death and sexual violence on social media and instant messaging services, some receiving hundreds of messages a day."

The statement came after Iran International filed an urgent appeal with the experts urging them to take action against Iran over serious risks to the lives and safety of their journalists worldwide and relatives inside Iran.

In July, British lawmakers warned that Iran is among several foreign governments engaged in transnational repression on UK soil.

A report from parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said Tehran’s tactics include “assassination plots, physical attacks, intimidation of family members, asset freezing, judicial proceedings, smear campaigns, online abuse, surveillance and digital attacks such as hacking, doxing and impersonation."

Beyond targeting dissidents, the G7 on Friday warned of other malign operations linked to Iran, including what it described as efforts to obtain and publish journalists’ personal information and actions designed to “divide societies and intimidate Jewish communities.”

“The G7 RRM stands in solidarity with our international partners whose citizens and residents have also been targeted by Iran,” the group said, vowing to continue countering foreign interference.

The RRM was launched in 2018 to address foreign threats to democracy.

"Five years ago today, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran executed Navid Afkari after years of torture and a sham trial," the State Department said in a post on its Persian X account.

The State Department said Navid Afkari’s case "reflects a broader pattern of systematic impunity for torture, forced confessions, and executions carried out without due process in Iran’s judiciary."

Afkari was arrested in 2018 and later sentenced to death for killing government employee Hassan Torkaman during antigovernment protests in Shiraz.

Before being executed in 2020, Afkari sent several audio messages from prison in which he said he had confessed to the murder only under physical and psychological duress.

"Through sham judicial procedures, this regime seeks to create the illusion of justice while denying fairness, fair trial, and accountability," the State Department said in its post on X.

"The United States condemns these actions and reaffirms its unwavering support for the Iranian people in their pursuit of justice, freedom, and human dignity."

At the height of Iran’s 2022 protests against the Islamic Republic, Donald Trump praised the demonstrations by the Iranian people.

“The people of Iran are bravely protesting against their corrupted and brutal regime, courageously facing down violence, persecution, jail, torture, and even death... we are with you and we will always be with you.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television the process was moving forward. “Negotiations are in their final stages,” he said. “We hope the process will be completed in the coming days.”

The detainee in France is Mahdieh Esfandiari, 39, who has been held in Fresnes prison near Paris since March on charges of glorifying terrorism. Prosecutors said she posted messages on Telegram in support of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel, which they considered incitement to terrorism and insults against the Jewish community.

On Friday, outgoing French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris was demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of its nationals. “France has always called for the immediate and unconditional release of our compatriots in Iran,” he told France Inter radio, declining to comment on Araghchi’s remarks.

Among those imprisoned are Cecile Kohler and her husband, Jacques Paris, detained in May 2022. Iranian authorities accused them of spying for Israel and trying to stir labor protests, charges their families call baseless.

They have been held for more than three years under conditions family members describe as harsh, with limited access to lawyers and relatives.

Kohler's sister Noemie told Iran International that the family had not been informed about any progress and was wary of the reports.

"Unfortunately, we have no information beside what is said in the media," she said. "We are very cautious regarding this statement."

A third detainee is 19-year-old dual national Lennart Monterlos, who disappeared in Iran in June while cycling. Araghchi confirmed his arrest in July without specifying the charges.

Araghchi said Iran’s judiciary and security agencies were involved in the process and that practical steps would follow once legal procedures were complete. Tehran rejects Western accusations that it detains foreign nationals as leverage in disputes.

Rights groups say Iran has a record of detaining foreigners for political ends. Human Rights Watch and others have described such cases as “state hostage-taking.”

Parviz Sabeti later westernized his and his wife’s names to Peter and Nancy after settling in Florida, the report said. The lawsuit against him by three plaintiffs describing themselves as former political prisoners seeks $225 million in damages.

Using those aliases, Sabeti established a successful real estate development company in central Florida, while he, his wife and their two daughters were listed as directors of several active firms, the report said.

The family own at least eight properties in Orange County, including a $3.5m mansion in a community called Windermere purchased in 2005, it added

Sabeti served as a top official in Iran's secret police, SAVAK, from 1973 to 1978. He resurfaced publicly during Iran’s widespread 2022 protests after decades out of view.

The report comes after a US district court in Florida rejected multiple motions by Sabeti to dismiss the case last month.

Sara Colón, an attorney for the plaintiffs, welcomed the Florida court’s rejection of Sabeti’s dismissal motions and its order to preserve her clients’ anonymity, telling the Guardian the ruling was a “positive result for survivors of torture who are seeking accountability and justice.”

Colón added that plaintiffs had been subjected to death threats and intimidation since filing the lawsuit.

An advocacy group for victims of torture and their families, The Iranian Collective for Justice & Accountability, said it hoped the Sabeti case would help end a “cycle of violence.”

“All victims deserve justice, and everyone engaged in torture and repression should be held accountable,” the Guardian quoted a spokesperson for the group as saying.

Amini died under circumstances which remain unexplained shortly after her arrest on Sept. 16, 2022, sparking a wave of protests nationwide dubbed the Woman, Life, Freedom movement which was ultimately quashed with deadly force.

Shahinkar and her mother joined a Tehran protest on Oct. 15, in which security forces shot her in the face with non-lethal munitions, leaving her blind in one eye.

Now living in exile in the United States, she believes the movement has moved far beyond opposition to the hijab mandated by Tehran's theocracy toward demanding the total downfall of the ruling system.

“Our youth were not killed and people like me were not blinded — many in one eye, many in both eyes, many raped and tortured in prisons — just to settle for superficial reforms,” Shahinkar told Iran International.

Her comments come as tensions fester inside Iran. According to Iran Human Rights, authorities executed Mehran Bahramian, a protester arrested during the 2022 demonstrations, just weeks before the anniversary.

Repression continued

Thousands of people in Iran face the risk of execution amid what Amnesty International on Wednesday called a deepening execution crisis.

The rights group said more than 800 people had been executed in 2025 so far, nearly double the pace of last year, and warned that dozens of other detainees linked to the protests remain at imminent risk of execution following what it describes as unfair trials and forced confessions.

Shahinkar says families of those killed or arrested during the unrest with whom she remains in touch tell her about renewed harassment, saying they have received summonses by security services to discourage public commemorations.

The protests, Shahinkar said, sparked visible social change but she believes the state allows it as a form of controlled freedom.

'We want evil rule gone'

A top Tehran decision-making body in May ordered the parliament not to enforce a contentious law mandating stricter hijab regulations.

“We see women singing in the streets, people taking relative freedoms. But they allow a bit of space only to avoid triggering another protest, Shahinkar said.

"We don’t want small freedoms meant to silence people. We want the Islamic Republic gone — its evil removed from our country."

Iranian-American psychotherapist Azadeh Afsahi, who works with survivors of torture through her nonprofit Iran House, says she hears this same shift from many Iranians she counsels.

“The definition of justice is not available when we talk with survivors, because we don’t know when they will see accountability. But what stands out is their willingness to fight, even after everything," Afsahi told Iran International.

Shahinkar insists that only mass resistance will make a difference.

“The Islamic Republic won’t fall through kindness or dancing. It takes anger and massive numbers in the streets — more than 50% of society, not just 20 or 30.”

Struggle goes on

Despite the risks, she says fear no longer holds her back.

“At first, I was terrified when I saw security forces. But over time, the fear disappeared… Even with one eye, we can celebrate freedom.”

The anniversary of Amini’s death is being marked by vigils and demonstrations abroad, while inside Iran, rights groups say authorities have tightened restrictions on gatherings. The United States and several European countries have issued statements honoring Amini’s memory and calling for accountability.

For Shahinkar, however, symbolic gestures abroad are not enough; she maintains that the future depends on Iranians themselves realizing their strength and carrying the struggle beyond hijab into a demand for systemic change.