Key facts
- Mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi was executed on October 14.
- At least six more athletes face execution, according to Human Rights for Sport.
- Wrestler Navid Afkari Sangari was executed in September 2020.
- 217 Iranian athletes were killed by direct gunfire in January, Human Rights for Sport found.
Fears are growing for Iranian athletes facing execution after mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi was hanged on October 14, following the deaths of other sports figures. Human Rights for Sport, an Oslo-based group, has warned that at least six more athletes are facing execution after their sentences were upheld by Iran's supreme court. Mostafavi was arrested in April after anti-government protests and accused of being an "armed agent of the American-Zionist enemy." His death sentence was upheld by the supreme court at the end of September. Other athletes executed this year include taekwondo athlete Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi and mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab. The group believes athletes are being targeted to send a message to the wider community, citing the case of wrestler Navid Afkari Sangari, who was executed in September 2020.