PARIS — The world union of professional footballers
FIFPRO said it was "shocked and sickened" by the risk of Iranian
footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani being sentenced to death in connection with
protests which have shaken the country for three months.
اضافة اعلان
Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days
after allegedly taking part in an "armed riot" in which three
security agents were killed on September 16, Isfahan's judiciary chief Abdullah
Jafari said, quoted Sunday by Iran's ISNA news agency.
Jafari said the 26-year-old had been accused of
"rebellion, membership in illegal gangs, collusion to undermine security
and therefore assisting in moharabeh" — or "enmity against God" —
a capital crime in the Islamic republic.
"FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that
professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after
campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country," the
union wrote on its Twitter page late Monday.
"We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the
immediate removal of his punishment."
The alarm comes after a global outcry following the
execution by Iran in the past days of two young men arrested over the protests.
Nasr-Azadani, who played at the U16 level for the national
team, began his football career with Tehran team Rah-Ahan, with whom he played
for the first time in Iran's top flight league.
The defender briefly played for Tractor SC under former
Wales coach John Toshack and is currently at FC Iranjavan Bushehr.
Former Iranian international star Ali Karimi, a strong
supporter of the protests, backed the footballer in a tweet, saying "Do
not execute Amir".
The Iranian national team took part in the
World Cup in Qatar and staged their own protest by refusing to sing the national anthem in
their opening match against England.
However, they rolled back to sing the anthem for subsequent
matches against Wales and the US.
Iran is facing protests sparked by the September 16 death of
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died after she was arrested by
morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress
code for women.
According to Amnesty International, 11 people have been confirmed
to have been sentenced to death over the protests and at least another nine,
including Nasr-Azadani, risk being sentenced to death.
Iran calls the protests "riots" and says they have
been encouraged by its foreign foes.
Prominent former international star Voria Ghafouri was
arrested in Iran last month after he backed the protests and condemned the
crackdown but was later released on bail.
Read more Sports
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
