Who was Saleh Mohammadi, the teenage wrestler executed in Iran?

The execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi is being widely criticised by human rights organisations and the international community.

Put to death on Thursday, in Qom, alongside Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, these were the first officially announced executions linked to the January protests across Iran.

Who was Saleh Mohammadi?

Saleh Mohammadi was widely regarded as a rising talent in Iranian freestyle wrestling. He competed domestically and had begun to establish himself on the international stage, most notably winning a bronze medal at the Saitiev International Cup held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in September 2024.

Visuals circulated after his death showed a disciplined athlete in national colours, training and competing with focus, reflecting years of dedication to the sport.

His social media presence offered glimpses into his journey, including a post made months before his arrest in which he documented his return to training after recovering from injury.

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He wrote, “And we held on beyond what we ever imagined for ourselves.”

For many observers, these images and posts stood in stark contrast to the serious charges that would later be brought against him.

What led to his arrest during Iran’s protests?

Mohammadi was detained in January earlier this year in the city of Qom, during a wave of unrest that had swept across Iran.

The protests began in late December 2025 following a severe economic downturn, marked by a dramatic collapse of the national currency, inflation hovering around 40 per cent, and food prices rising approximately 72 per cent year-on-year.

What started as economic protests quickly evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations. On January 8, clashes in Qom escalated, prompting a forceful response from security forces.

The crackdown was described by observers as one of the most severe in decades, with some comparing it to the deadliest episodes of repression since the 1979 revolution.

Authorities arrested large numbers of individuals that night, including Mohammadi, Ghasemi, and Davoudi, as part of a wider sweep targeting participants in the protests.

What charges were brought against him?

Iranian prosecutors accused the three men of killing two police officers during the January 8 unrest in Qom’s Nabut Square. According to official accounts, the officers were attacked with knives and swords during the clashes.

The judiciary framed the case as a matter of national security, charging the accused with moharebeh, or “enmity against God” — a capital offence under Iran’s legal framework. The charge, historically associated with armed rebellion, has increasingly been applied in cases linked to protest activity.

Authorities also claimed that the accused had acted on behalf of foreign powers, including the United States and Israel — an allegation frequently levelled by the state against dissenters.

State media presented the executions as a lawful response to violence against security personnel, maintaining that the convictions had been upheld by the Supreme Court and that due process had been followed.

Did the case follow due process?

Despite the official narrative, multiple concerns were raised regarding the integrity of the case against Mohammadi.

Court records indicated that one of the slain officers, Mohammad Qasemi Hompour, suffered multiple stab wounds during the incident. However, available security footage reportedly did not clearly identify Mohammadi at the scene.

His family, coaches, and teammates stated that he was not present during the violence, asserting that he had been at his uncle’s home at the time. Mohammadi himself denied the charges during court proceedings.

Another issue in the case was the reliance on confessions that Mohammadi later retracted, alleging they had been obtained under torture. Reports suggested that he had been held without regular contact and subjected to coercive interrogation methods.

When his family attempted to appoint independent legal representation, the court denied the request and instead assigned state-appointed counsel. The trial was described by critics as expedited and lacking transparency, with limited opportunities for defence and no meaningful right to appeal.

Amnesty International said Mohammadi was denied “adequate defence and forced to make 'confessions'…in fast-tracked proceedings that bore no resemblance to a meaningful trial.” The Iran Human Rights organisation similarly stated that he and the others “had been sentenced to death following an unfair trial, based on confessions obtained under torture.”

These concerns led rights groups to argue that the proceedings fell short of international legal standards.

What was the reaction?

Mohammadi’s case drew attention beyond Iran’s borders even before the execution was carried out.

The US State Department issued a warning in January, stating, “The United States is deeply concerned by reports that 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi is facing imminent execution. The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is massacring young people and destroying Iran’s future. We call on the Iranian regime to halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all those sentenced to death for exercising their fundamental rights. #SalehMohammadi #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights #IranProtest.”

Despite such appeals, the execution proceeded. US President Donald Trump had initially indicated he might respond forcefully if Iran carried out executions of protesters, but later shifted focus to other aspects of the Iran crisis, including its nuclear programme.

Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad wrote on X, “Today, in Iran, in the middle of a war, the regime executed a 19-year-old national wrestling champion for the crime of joining January protests. After signaling to the world, including President @realDonaldTrump, that they would halt executions of protesters, the regime has done the exact opposite.”

She further stated, “Three young protesters, Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in Qom after a sham trial. Reports indicate torture. Forced confessions. No access to chosen lawyers. Closed-door proceedings. No right to appeal. I call on @GlobalAthleteHQ to stand with Iranian athletes who are being silenced, imprisoned, and executed simply for raising their voices. This is not just about sports. This is about human dignity.”

Nima Far, a human rights activist and combat athlete, described the killing as politically motivated, telling Fox News, “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 also criticised international sporting bodies for not taking stronger action. “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.”

Some activists also urged organisations such as Global Athlete to take a stand in support of Iranian competitors facing repression.

What does this case signal for Iran?

Mohammadi’s execution took place against the backdrop of war and conflict in West Asia.

Iran is currently in the third week of a conflict following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28. The country’s leadership is undergoing a period of transition, with authorities seeking to consolidate control amid both internal dissent and external pressure.

Since late 2025, Iran has witnessed sustained unrest, with thousands reportedly killed and many more detained. Independent observers and UN-linked experts have noted an increase in executions, particularly in cases linked to protest activity.

The use of moharebeh in such cases has drawn scrutiny, as it allows the state to classify dissent as a threat not only to political authority but also to religious and national security.

Hundreds of detainees are believed to remain on death row, raising concerns among rights groups that further executions may follow.

Mohammadi’s death has inevitably drawn comparisons to that of Navid Afkari, the Iranian wrestler executed in 2020 after participating in protests.

For activists, Mohammadi’s case reflects continuity rather than change. The targeting of athletes — individuals often viewed as national representatives — adds symbolic weight to such actions.

Despite advocacy campaigns and social media mobilisation, there was no large-scale intervention capable of halting the execution in this instance.

With inputs from agencies