The Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Colombia describes the news as a “pure lie” because “the trial has not yet taken place”
The Iranian regime came out this Tuesday in the face of the campaign launched by international organizations, governments, political leaders, human rights activists and celebrities from around the world who ask that a well-known footballer not be hanged for his participation in the protests. He did so by denying, through the Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Colombia, that Amir Nasr Azadani, 26, has been sentenced to death, as confirmed a week ago by the International Federation of Professional Soccer Associations (Fifpro).
“False news about the death sentence of an Iranian soccer player,” the diplomatic office said after Colombian President Gustavo Petro joined the global outcry and urged Tehran “not to kill” Nasr Azadani. The Embassy framed the Fifpro information as part of a “‘fake news’ campaign.” “The trial has not yet taken place. Therefore, the news about the death penalty is a pure lie, “said the legation, specifying that the athlete is the fifth defendant in a criminal case for allegedly a member of an armed group that would have shot dead three agents.
Fifpro, however, had detailed on the 13th that Nasr Azadani, who has played for prestigious Iranian clubs such as Rah-Ahan, Tractor and Gol-e Rayhan, had been sentenced to death “after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedoms” during the protests that have been taking place in the country since September. Specifically, they indicated that he had been found guilty of the crime ‘enmity with God’, which entails hanging, a penalty that two other young people already suffered at the beginning of the month. The last of them was executed in public in Mashad for being part of the mobilizations that broke out after the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Morality Police for wearing the veil incorrectly.
Meeting with Borrell
The denial of the conviction of Nasr Azadani coincided with the meeting in Jordan of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amirabdolahian. “I stressed the need to immediately stop military support for Russia and internal repression,” said the head of community diplomacy. Similarly, he advanced that both parties have agreed to talk to “restore the nuclear agreement.”
At the same time, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the US of being an “accomplice” in the attack carried out in November by the Islamic State against a mausoleum in Shiraz, which left thirteen dead. “The US government is a disgusting liar for raising the flag of human rights while creating dangerous terrorist groups,” he denounced.
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