This is tragic. Iran has just publicly executed a 19-year-old champion wrestler who protested against the Iranian regime. Wrestler Saleh Mohammadi was publicly hanged by Iranian judicial officials after he vocally protested against the inhumane actions of Iran’s former Supreme Leader and other Iranian officials. Fox News broke the tragic news of the execution: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s judiciary on Thursday ignored a U.S. State Department warning along with pleas from elite Iranian-American wrestlers to not execute 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi for protesting against the Khamenei regime. Reports say Mohammadi was killed in a public hanging seen as a barbaric move by the Iranian regime to snuff out the ongoing movement seeking to topple it, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents. Nima Far, a human rights activist and Iranian combat athlete who is an expert on elite Iranian wrestling, told Fox News Digital, “His execution was a blatant political murder, part of the Islamic Republic’s pattern of targeting athletes to crush dissent and terrorize society, as seen with Navid Afkari and others executed despite international outcry.” He said, “The IOC [International Olympic Committee] and UWW [United World Wrestling] should have intervened forcefully with public ultimatums, threatening immediate suspension of Iran’s NOC [National Olympic Committee] and federations if the killing proceeded rather than relying on ineffective quiet diplomacy, given their own commitments to protect athletes from politically motivated harm.” Both organizations did put out statements after being asked for response from Fox News Digital upon Mohammadi’s death sentence. Here’s a photo of Mohammadi: BREAKING: The Islamic regime in Iran hanged the 19-year-old wrestler and anti-regime protester Saleh Mohammadi today pic.twitter.com/jXkYU3jiVg — Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 19, 2026 In total, three protesters were executed: The Islamic regime in Iran has executed three January anti-regime protesters under bogus charges and forced confessions. – Saleh Mohammadi – Saeed Davoodi– Mehdi Ghasemi They were sentenced to death and executed following confessions extracted under torture, sham trials, no… pic.twitter.com/Mhq81AgqQk — Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 19, 2026 HRW revealed the Iranian regime hanged another wrestler in January: Iran authorities executed Navid Afkari, who confessed to crimes allegedly under torture. This cruel act, in defiance of an international outcry for a fair retrial, shows an utter disregard for the most fundamental human rights norms. The case of an Iranian wrestler on death row is part of a systematic pattern in which Iranian authorities disregard torture allegations and use coerced confessions in trial proceedings, Human Rights Watch said today. Iran’s judiciary should immediately open a transparent and independent investigation into allegations that the authorities tortured Navid Afkari and his brothers and grant Afkari a fair retrial in accordance with human rights standards. Iranian authorities brought three cases against the wrestler Navid Afkari and his brother Vahid. Both were arrested in September 2018 on dozens of charges that include participation in illegal demonstrations, insulting Iran’s supreme leader, robbery, “enmity against God,” and murder. Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence by a criminal court in Shiraz against Navid and a 25-year prison sentence for Vahid for assisting in the alleged murder, while summarily dismissing the brothers’ serious allegations that they were tortured into confessing. “Iranian authorities’ utter disregard of serious allegations that they tortured Navid Afkari into confessing to alleged murder fits with a broader pattern of systematic impunity for torture and coerced confessions,” said Tara Sepehri Far, Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should drop charges that violate the Afkari brothers’ legitimate freedoms, investigate their allegations of torture, and ensure that they get a fair trial.” Do you have an opinion?