Fate of Iran soccer player unclear as he faces risk of execution
Iranian prosecutors are seeking to send Amir Reza Nasr Azadani to the gallows, as the Islamic Republic defiantly presses ahead with death sentences for protesters.
TEHRAN — Fears intensified on Tuesday over the fate of 26-year-old Iranian soccer player Amir Reza Nasr Azadani, who was arrested last month and is standing trial in Iran over his participation in anti-government protests.
Prosecutors in the central city of Isfahan indicted the athlete on Sunday with a charge punishable by execution. According to Mizan News, the official outlet of the Iranian judiciary, Nasr Azadani is accused of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic. No date has been assigned for his next court appearance.
Nasr Azadani plays for FC Iranjavan, a club based in Bushehr in southwest Iran that currently competes in the Azadegan League.
The indictment alleges that he is a member of an unnamed "armed group" targeting the ruling establishment. It links the soccer player to the deaths of two members of pro-government paramilitary Basij forces and a police officer during an anti-government protest Nov. 16. The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced last month that it had arrested a "terrorist team" over the Isfahan violence.
