Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old member of Iran’s national freestyle wrestling team, was executed in Qom after being convicted of killing two police officers during unrest on January 8, the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported.
The authorities charged Mohammadi and two other men, Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, with moharebeh, or waging war against God, and said the three had attacked officers with knives and swords, the agency reported.
Rights groups and Mohammadi’s family said the conviction rested on coerced confessions and anonymous testimony, and that his attempts to appoint independent counsel were denied, according to Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights.
Hengaw posted footage and reported that Mohammadi was secretly executed in the early hours of Thursday March 19 2026 in Qom Central Prison, while Iran International and other outlets said the executions were the first publicly announced linked to January’s protests.
Mohammadi had won a bronze medal at the Saitiev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk in September 2024 and his final Instagram post showed him returning to training, stating, “And we held on beyond what we ever imagined for ourselves.”
The case drew scrutiny because security video reportedly did not clearly identify Mohammadi at the scene, and family, teammates and coaches said he had been at his uncle’s home, not in Nabut Square when the violence occurred.
Reactions And Implications
The US State Department had warned Iran to halt Mohammadi’s execution, saying it was deeply concerned by reports he faced imminent execution and calling on the Iranian regime to stop executions of protesters.
Activists and former athletes urged sports bodies to act, with Nima Far calling the killing a political murder and Sardar Pashaei saying the execution showed the regime’s brutality, both speaking to Fox News Digital.
Masih Alinejad wrote on X that the executions were carried out after closed trials with reports of torture and forced confessions, and she urged organisations such as Global Athlete to support silenced competitors.
Iran Human Rights director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam told ITV News the men were sentenced after unfair trials based on confessions extracted under torture, and Amnesty International similarly criticised the proceedings.
Observers noted the executions occurred amid a broader crisis, with reporting saying Iran was in the third week of war following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28, while sustained unrest since late 2025 had left thousands reportedly killed and many detained.
