Iran executes 3 including teen champion wrestler over January protests

Friday, March, 20 2026 - Three men detained in protests held across Iran in January have been executed, the country's judiciary has announced.

The executions of wrestler Saleh Mohammadi and two other men; Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davvodi, are the first such sentences known to have been carried out in relation to the demonstrations.

Three protesters were executed on Thursday, March 19, after being accused of k!lling two police officers during unrest in January, according to the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency.

Mohammadi, a national-level wrestler who had competed internationally, denied the charges in court and said his confession had been obtained under torture, according to accounts from those close to him. Members of Iran’s wrestling community had also defended him, saying he had no history of violence.

Mohammadi had represented Iran in international wrestling events, including the 2024 Saitiev Cup in Russia, where he won a bronze medal.

His execution has drawn comparisons to wrestler Navid Afkari, whose case became a symbol of the use of capital punishment following protests.

Afkari was sentenced to de@th and executed in Shiraz after being accused and convicted of murdering a security guard during the 2018 Iranian protests.

Protests in January, which began over the deteriorating economic situation and escalated to become a wider outcry against the theocratic government, were suppressed with force.

More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during the crackdown on nationwide protests, making it the deadliest two-day protest massacre in history, according to documents reviewed by Iran International's Editorial Board.