Iran Executes Saleh Mohammadi, 19-Year-Old Wrestler and International Medalist
The Iranian dictatorship hanged and executed Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old athlete recognized in his country, who had won the bronze medal at the Saytev Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in 2024 representing the Iranian national team. The execution was carried out without prior public notice and has generated international condemnation because he was a minor at the time of the events that led to the death sentence, in a new chapter of the ayatollahs' regime's brutal repression of its own youth.
- The Iranian dictatorship has hanged Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old athlete who represented Iran in international competitions and won the bronze medal at the Saytev Cup wrestling tournament held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in 2024. The execution took place in a Mohammadi was executed in a maximum-security prison in Tehran province without prior notice or the possibility of effective appeal, according to human rights organizations and Iranian exiles. Mohammadi, considered a rising star in Iranian youth sports, was arrested in 2023 on charges of “moharebeh” (enmity against God) and “corruption on Earth,” charges that are commonly used against any form of dissent, protest, or conduct deemed contrary to the Islamic regime.
- Sources close to the family claim that the young man was tortured during interrogation and that his conviction was based on confessions obtained under duress. The execution of an internationally renowned athlete has sparked outrage in the sports world and among the Iranian diaspora. The United World Wrestling (UWW) issued a statement condemning Mohammadi’s death “in the strongest terms” and demanding that Iran explain the circumstances. Russian athletes who competed against him in Krasnoyarsk recalled his talent and charisma, and several called for his name to be removed from the official Iranian team rosters in protest.
- Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation described the case as “another judicial killing by the regime” and noted that Iran continues to execute minors (or people who committed crimes as minors) despite international obligations. Saleh was 17 years old at the time of the events that led to his arrest, making the execution a flagrant violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory. The regime has not issued an official statement on the execution, but Iranian state media have broadcast images of the hanging and messages presenting it as “exemplary punishment against enemies of the Islamic Revolution.” On social media, the hashtag #SalehMohammadi went viral among exiles and opposition members, who compared him to other young people executed, such as Mostafa Salehi, or the 2022 protesters.
- Mohammadi's death comes amid the Iran-Israeli war and the harshest internal repression since 2022, with hundreds of executions documented annually. Analysts see the case as a message from the regime: not even sporting success protects against the repressive machinery of the ayatollahs. The young man's family has requested that his body be released for a proper burial, but so far Iranian authorities have refused.
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