Iran executes champion wrestler, 2 others found guilty of ‘waging war against God’

Iran executed champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi and two other men after convicting them of “waging war against God” in connection with the killing of two police officers during protests in January. 

Nineteen-year-old Mohammadi and the other two men, identified as Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in Qom, south of Tehran, after being convicted of "moharebeh," or waging war against God, a capital offense under Iran’s Islamic legal code, according to the non-profit Iran Human Rights.

Iran’s judiciary said the men were found guilty of involvement in the killing of two officers and of carrying out “operational actions” in favor of Israel and the United States, sources confirmed to CBS News. 

The executions were the first hangings carried out by Iran in connection with nationwide demonstrations that began in late December over the rising cost of living and later turned into anti-government protests.

Rights groups said the three men were executed without a fair trial and after confessions were obtained under torture. There had been particular concern over Mohammadi’s case because of his age and status as an athlete.

Amnesty International said he was denied an adequate defense and forced to make confessions in fast-tracked proceedings that did not amount to a meaningful trial.

Dadban, an Iranian legal affairs monitor, also said the three men were denied effective access to independent counsel and the right to a defense.

The three men had been accused of using swords and knives to attack police officers attempting to subdue protests on Jan. 8, killing two of them, Washington Examiner reported, citing Iranian state media and other reports.

Mohammadi was arrested on Jan. 15, and Iran’s Supreme Court had recently upheld the death sentences of the three men, according to the Examiner, which noted that Iranian authorities frequently accuse dissidents of links to the United States and Israel.

The executions came a day after Iran hanged Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, on charges of spying for Israel. Sweden and the European Union condemned the execution.

CBS said it was the first publicly announced execution of that type since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and setting off a war that has spread across the Middle East.

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, said it feared a surge in executions during the conflict. The group added that hundreds of people were facing charges linked to the protests that could result in death sentences and warned of the risk of mass executions of protesters and political prisoners in the shadow of war.

Iran’s hardline judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, has declared there will be no leniency for those convicted of violent acts during the protests.

Iranian authorities blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel. Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died in the violence, including members of the security forces and bystanders, and said the deaths were caused by what it described as terrorist acts.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported in February that it recorded more than 7,000 killings, while warning that the real toll could be far higher, along with tens of thousands of arrests. 

Two senior officials in Iran’s Health Ministry told Time that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 alone, though the magazine said it could not independently verify the figure.

Dr. Amir Parasta, a German-Iranian eye surgeon who compiled data from physicians and first responders, told Time that a hospital tally stood at 30,304 deaths as of Friday. He said that figure did not include protest-related deaths recorded at military hospitals or in places the inquiry did not reach.

According to witnesses, millions of people were in the streets when authorities shut down the internet and other communications, and rooftop snipers and trucks mounted with heavy machine guns opened fire. Images of bloodied bodies later reportedly emerged through banned Starlink satellite internet connections.

At least 1,500 people were hanged last year, according to Iran Human Rights.