Iran prison witness of the torture of Navid Akfari dies in suspicious circumstances
Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The torture of the Iranian champion wrestler, Navid Afkari, before his execution was witnessed by Shahin Naseri. Hence, the suspicious death of the prisoner Naseri is bound to lead to accusations against Iran because the ruling elites rule by fear.
Suspicious deaths are a regular occurrence in Iran because of torture and the state apparatus crushing all forms of dissent. Religious minorities, including the Baha’i community and apostates to Christianity, face endless state oppression. Similarly, various ethnic groups suffer persecution – and women are arrested and face sexual abuse in prison for merely not covering up under draconian laws.
Afkari said, before his execution, “If I am executed, I want you to know that an innocent person, even though he tried and fought with all his strength to be heard, was executed.”
Reuters reports, “Afkari, a 27-year-old Greco-Roman wrestler, had said he was tortured into making a false confession, according to his family and activists, and his attorney says there is no proof of his guilt…”
The state apparatus that killed Afkari – and the suspicious death of Naseri – sums up the bloodthirsty nature of Iran. Henceforth, yesteryear, the Islamic Revolution was devouring innocents, and today it is still devouring innocents who only want hope and opportunities.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty reports, “In a report released on September 15, Amnesty International said it had recorded at least 72 such deaths in custody since January 2010 despite credible reports that the deaths were the result of torture or other ill-treatment, or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials. The rights group said not a single Iranian official has been held accountable for these deaths.”
Recently, the brutality of Evin Prison in Tehran was exposed by Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice) after they cleverly hacked into the surveillance system. Evin Prison is synonymous with sexual violence, torture of political opponents and anyone deemed a threat to the government of Iran, the persecution of religious minorities, women opposed to draconian laws, and others.
The death of Naseri is still being investigated. However, with him being the key witness of the torture of Afkari before he was executed – along with recent video footage of torture inside Evin Prison – then can anyone trust an internal investigation that is done by Iranian authorities given so many past deaths inside Iranian prisons?
Info Security recently said, “Silent videos capturing the dire conditions of life inside Tehran’s Evin Prison were shared with the media on Sunday by hacktivist group Tapandegan (Palpitations). Iran International reports that the Tapandegan received the images from a hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali’s Justice).”
Iran Human Rights reports, “In February 2021, Behnam Mahjoubi, a Sufi dervish imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin Prison, died from serious neurological issues after the State Medical Examiner concluded he could not withstand incarceration and recommended his release.”
Overall, the execution of Afkari to the death of the key witness Naseri sums up the tyranny of Iran.
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