Execution as Statecraft: How Tehran Liquidates Its Sporting Elite

Totalitarian regimes have always understood the arithmetic of public fear. To subdue a population, targeting anonymous dissidents is rarely enough; state terror works best when inflicted on public role models. The execution of Ali-Sina Mostafavi on October 14 follows this grim logic.

Mostafavi, a mountaineer who documented his ascents of Mount Everest, was arrested in April following anti-government protests. Held in Kerman and subjected to physical violence, he was accused of being an armed agent of the American-Zionist enemy. Iran's supreme court upheld his sentence in late September, and his family was summoned to prison hours before his death. He is hardly alone in this fate. In early October, taekwondo athlete Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi was executed, while mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was hanged in May.

The Oslo-based group Human Rights for Sport warns that at least six more athletes face execution after supreme court confirmations. They include swimmer Ali Pishevarzadeh, footballer Ehsan Hosseinpour, MMA fighter Benyamin Naghdi, equestrian Taraneh Rahimi, climber Maryam Siri, and boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, whose request for a retrial was rejected last year following his 2020 arrest.

The scope of violence extends far beyond the death rows. Human Rights for Sport reports that 217 Iranian athletes were killed by direct gunfire during the January protests, with over 100 others detained. Contacting victims' families has grown nearly impossible due to phone surveillance and targeted arrests of relatives. As Dr Zohreh Abdollahkhani from the activist group observed, executing high-profile role models—such as wrestler Navid Afkari Sangari in September 2020—serves as an explicit warning to the wider public.

Against this brutal reality, global sports bodies offer little beyond administrative deflection. Four European Parliament members sent a letter to FIFA before the World Cup regarding athletes facing execution, only to be met with initial silence. FIFA later provided standard corporate rhetoric, stating that Fifa is aware of the concerns raised regarding the situation of Iranian athletes and thanks all stakeholders for their continued collaboration and dedication to raising awareness of these critical matters.

The International Olympic Committee similarly retreated behind institutional excuses, claiming its non-governmental status limits its power over sovereign states. Disputing criticism regarding its safeguarding structures, the IOC declared: Within our remit, we work tirelessly with all stakeholders of the Olympic movement, including national Olympic committees and international federations, to support the creation of a safe sporting environment for all athletes. We will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to support all athletes globally through sports diplomacy, and we remain in touch with the Olympic community of Iran.

While international sports bureaucracies hide behind diplomatic jargon, Tehran's gallows continue their work undisturbed. Four European lawmakers might write letters, but institutional inertia ensures no meaningful action follows. For the athletes waiting on death row, the apparatus of international sport provides endless process without protection.

Written by Sandy van Dongen sandy.vandongen@alpineweekly.com